Individual bankruptcy filings fell to a seven-month low in September - the fourth consecutive monthly drop since June - as the labor market continues to improve and asset prices rise, data from the Official Receiver's Office released Friday shows.

A total of 704 bankruptcy petitions were filed in September, 8 percent lower than the previous month's 765 and down 38 percent from 1,142 a year earlier.

The first nine months also showed a downward trend in the number of bankruptcy petitions filed, with the total number at 7,133.

The improvement has occurred because of better employment prospects and higher asset prices, said Paul Tang, chief economist at the Bank of East Asia. He expects this trend to be sustainable for the rest of 2010.

Meanwhile, the city's jobless rate declined to a 20-month low of 4.2 percent for the June-August period from 4.3 percent in the May-July period.

Tang forecast an unemployment rate of around 4 percent in upcoming months.

Kevin Lai, senior economist at Daiwa Institute Research, also expects employment to "hold up well" or at least "remain stable" during the next few months, particularly with more jobs in the construction sector.

However, Lai cautioned that the coming year may not be as good for job-seekers as he predicts a slowdown in the economy.

However, Tang says that in the short term the ongoing inflow of foreign capital into Hong Kong is likely to push asset prices higher and boost individual wealth.

"The low interest rate environment, together with the quantitative easing that some countries are soon to introduce, will see to it that more hot money flows into the city," he said.

China Daily

(HK Edition 10/16/2010 page2)