Hong Kong’s economy improves in Q2 as COVID-19 infections drop

HONG KONG, April 24– Hong Kong’s economy is showing steady improvement in the second quarter as the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections is gradually put under control, said Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, on Sunday. Although Hong Kong’s economy is gradually stabilizing and local inflation is relatively…

HONG KONG, April 24 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong’s economy is showing steady improvement in the second quarter as the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections is gradually put under control, said Paul Chan, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, on Sunday.

While the economy is starting to improve, Hong Kong’s unemployment rate will take some time to drop, given the difficulties caused by the pandemic, he said in a blog post.

Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 5 percent for the period between January and March compared with the previous quarter, according to official data.

Although Hong Kong’s economy is gradually stabilizing and local inflation is relatively moderate, Hong Kong must remain vigilant to the external environment, especially the geopolitical situation and the movement of interest rates and their impact on the global economy, capital flows, asset prices and financial market, he said.

Hong Kong will keep a close eye on the trend of Hong Kong interest rates and the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar, Chan said, noting that the U.S. interest rate hike cycle will not affect the financial and monetary stability of Hong Kong.

On Sunday, Hong Kong registered 221 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 208 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed. Enditem