Hong Kong first quarter GDP rises 7.9% year-on-year after six quarters of contraction

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's economy grew a revised 7.9% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the government said on Friday, snapping six consecutive quarters of annual contractions, boosted by a lower coronavirus threat and mainland China's recovery.

The first quarter's pace compares with a decline of 2.8% in the previous quarter. On a quarterly basis, the economy grew a revised seasonally adjusted 5.4% for the January-March period, up from a 0.5% growth in the previous quarter.

The government also maintained the real GDP forecast for 2021 as a whole of 3.5% to 5.5% growth.

"Yet, the actual outturn can hopefully be near the upper end of the range forecast if the pandemic situation improves in the period ahead," the government said in a statement.

(Reporting by Donny Kwok and Twinnie Siu; Editing by Andrew Heavens)