Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Sunday said Hong Kong’s GDP growth in the first quarter is expected to remain stable.

Writing in his weekly blog, Chan said Hong Kong saw over 12 million visitor arrivals in the first quarter, up nine percent year-on-year, thanks to a series of mega events and international conferences.

“Among them, non-mainland visitors accounted for about 2.98 million which increased significantly by 18 percent year-on-year. The number of mainland visitors also went up by six percent,” Chan said.

“This shows that events which are creative with distinctive themes, helped draw more mainland and overseas visitors to Hong Kong,” he added.

Chan pointed out this helped boost the retail and catering sectors.

He also said the city’s exports to markets, including the mainland and Asean countries, recorded a significant increase in the first quarter, while exports to the United States grew slightly.

All these factors have contributed to the SAR's GDP performance Chan said, ahead of advance estimates for the January-March period, expected to be announced later this week.

Meanwhile, Chan said the US' “bullying” and unilateralism would still weigh on the global economic outlook, and Hong Kong will inevitably be affected by challenges in the external environment.

The finance chief however expressed confidence in the SAR’s economic development which is being boosted by the nation’s steady growth and strong support.

Chan also said the SAR government has prepared a series of measures to help enterprises deal with future challenges.