Hong Kong - Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang Monday issued a bullish assessment of the city's prospects for recovering from the global economic downturn in the Year of the Ox.

In his Chinese New Year address to the city of 6.9 million, Beijing-appointed Tsang said: "Hong Kongers are no strangers to adversity. We are used to thriving on challenges.

"I believe that if we pull together as a community, no challenge will be too big for Hong Kong."

Tsang, speaking on the first day of the Year of the Ox in the Chinese lunar calendar, said he believed the retail market was doing "better than expected" despite the global slump.

Hong Kong officially entered recession at the end of 2008 when it recorded its second consecutive quarter of economic contraction. Unemployment has climbed to more than 4 per cent. (dpa)