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Hong Kong's economy beat predictions to grow by 6.8 per cent in the third quarter as soaring stocks and better job prospects raised consumer spending.

The exceptionally strong GDP, which beat economists' forecast of 5.45 per cent, has prompted the government to revise this year's growth from a median 4.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent.

"Exports will not be as strong in the fourth quarter. But domestic demand seems to be holding up pretty well, underpinned by the strong labour market and also by ample liquidity, leading to a fall in interest rates and strong gains in asset prices," Lehman Brothers Inc (Hong Kong) senior economist Robert Subbaraman said yesterday.

The July-September GDP rose 3.5 per cent over the flat previous quarter, thanks to rising wages and record stock prices.

Domestic demand, Subbaraman said, is the key driver of the city's economy. Buoyed Hong Kong residents are spending significantly more cash on meals in restaurants, jewellery and clothes, powering the US$178-billion economy and offsetting the weak growth in exports.

A more stable property market, invigorated by the pause in interest rate, helped private consumption expenditure grow 4.4 per cent year on year, preceded by 4.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent rise in the first and second quarters, respectively.

Acting government economist Helen Chan said the better-than-expected third-quarter growth was the 12th consecutive above-trend increase since the economic upturn began in mid-2003.

"The forecast GDP growth for the year has been raised from 4-5 per cent to 6.5 per cent... after allowing for some possible moderation in external trade in the fourth quarter," Chan said. External trade was vigorous in the third quarter after being moderate in the second.

"We think the full-year growth could be between 6.5 per cent and 7 per cent," Societe Generale's Asia-Pacific chief economist Glenn Maguire said.

"The major risk to this growth could be a significant fall in the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong that has been the principal supporting dynamic."

Although the growth in exports, Hong Kong's pillar industry, has fallen to single digit after last year's double-digit rise, it has been better in the third quarter compared to the first two quarters.

Exports in July-September grew 8.9 per cent year on year because of the thriving trade flow on the mainland and the weakening of the US dollar in recent months.

Also, vibrant offshore trade and a buoyant financial market triggered a strong 8.6 per cent growth in exports of services.

The falling growth rate in exports can be attributed to fewer orders from the United States that is Hong Kong's biggest export market after the mainland.

On the job front, 3.5 million of the about 7 million people in the city are employed, which in itself is a record, and wages increased for the six straight quarter. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 per cent last month, the lowest since June 2001.

"Hiring has been extremely active this year. In fact, our business is now at the best level, and companies are still giving us new assignments," the managing director of Ambition Careers, Recruitment and Contracting, Hong Kong, Guy Day, said.

Mainland firms' IPOs helped the Hong Kong stock market touch an all-time high, with the benchmark Hang Seng index rising 29 per cent this year.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing said last week that its profit for the third quarter had jumped 45 per cent, thanks to a surge in trading because of the strong performance of mainland firms. Stocks worth US$49.87 billion have been sold on the bourse this year, US$32.38 billion more than all of 2005.