Hong Kong’s GDP shrinks 1.3pc in Q2
Hong Kong's economy contracted 1.3 per cent in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, following a weak performance in external trade during the period.
It was the second straight quarter of year-on-year contraction for the Asian financial hub's gross domestic product (GDP).
Seasonally adjusted GDP was 1 per cent higher in the second quarter than three months earlier, however.
Rising inflation, cooling global demand and weak consumer sentiment in the trade-reliant city remain significant risks for the recovery, analysts say.
The second quarter's annual growth pace compared with a decline of 3.9 per cent in the previous quarter. The advance estimate for the second quarter had been a 1.4 per cent contraction.
Rising inflation, cooling global demand and weak consumer sentiment in the trade-reliant city remain significant risks for the recovery
Covid-19 restrictions have weighed on the city's economy since early 2020, grinding tourism and business trips to a halt and battering bars, restaurants and shops repeatedly for prolonged periods.
The curbs are partly blamed for a net outflow of 113,200 people from Hong Kong between mid-2021 and mid-2022, according to government estimates.
The city has shortened the mandatory hotel quarantine period for all arrivals to three days from seven, but, as much of the world is now co-existing with the virus, the restrictions are expected to keep the city isolated.
Its outlook was overshadowed by increasing inflation rates globally and an uncertain geopolitical situation.
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