Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions creep up in March

Bankruptcy petition filings in Hong Kong rose slightly in March, despite an improvement in the unemployment rate and other economic indicators.
Bankruptcy petitions, which give an indication of future bankruptcies, totalled 1,296, up 11.2 percent from February, signalling that an economic recovery is still taking time to filter through.
Filings for bankruptcy hit their lowest level in 30 months in January.
The number of people declared bankrupt, considered a lagging economic indicator, rose to 1,518, 3.3 percent higher than February but roughly half the number of people declared bankrupt in March 2003.
Bankruptcies are expected to decline in coming months as Hong Kong's economy, which rebounded from recession late last year, is poised for six percent growth in 2004, the government has forecast.
Hong Kong's unemployment rate has declined steadily to 7.2 percent since peaking at 8.7 percent in July 2003 but still remains one of Asia's highest as low-cost neighbour China sucks up jobs.