| Abstract | The local stock market was saved from terminal torpidity when the first land auction result of the year was flashed from the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui to a breathless bourse. Total property sales in the territory rose to a sprightly $42.2 million in July 1996, up from $26 billion as recently as February of the same year. Given that private consumption accounts for 60 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, it is encouraging that the latest batch of motor vehicle sales showed the first gain in many a month, hinting that consumer purse strings might be being loosened. |
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