Hong Kong expects negative economic growth for the last quarter of 2008 and the first two quarters of 2009, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive Donald Tsang said Monday.

Addressing the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, Tsang said whether there will be clear signs of recovery in the latter part of 2009 will depend on how the global economy responds to various stimulus packages and savior policies.

"We have a long and difficult road ahead of us in terms of economic recovery," he said.

The top official of the HKSAR said the damages from the financial tsunami have been lesser than in the United States and Europe and that the fundamentals of the Asian economies and the key elements of Hong Kong's economic success remained sound.

"I am confident that Hong Kong will rebound strongly from the economic downturn," he said, citing the high quality labor force, the can-do spirit of Hong Kong people and the new opportunities arising from the closer ties with the mainland neighbors.

Hong Kong is by far the largest trade partner of the neighboring Guangdong province, where manufacturing were concentrated. Trade between the two hit some US$140 billion in 2007, Tsang said.

Tsang said Hong Kong has been trying to mitigate the impact of the financial tsunami and the global economic slowdown by fast- tracking infrastructure projects.

The Asian Financial Forum, a two-day event hosted by the HKSAR government, attracted about 1,000 guests from around the globe, including economic and political heavyweights such as Russian Minister of Finance Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin, finance officials from Korea and Japan, as well as Quantum Fund co-founder James Rogers.

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2009)