Category: Hong Kong Economy

Hong Kong’s Foreign Trade Records Biggest Decline in 70 Years in January

The year-on-year decline in Hong Kong’s foreign trade extended into January, recording its biggest monthly decline in 70 years; an expert says it’s evidence that “mainland China is slowly decoupling from the world.” Exports fell 36.7 percent and imports fell 30.2 percent in January from a year earlier, according to the January merchandise trade statistics…


Bill Ackman Bets Big Against Hong Kong Dollar, Says Currency Peg Doomed to Break

Billionaire Bill Ackman said that his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management has taken a significant short position against the Hong Kong dollar and expects the currency’s peg to the U.S. dollar to break soon. Ackman shared Richard Cookson’s article, “Pressure on the Honk Kong Dollar Peg Keeps Building,” published on Bloomberg that talked about…


HK Economy: Business Activity Tightens in 3Rd Quarter as GDP Contracts Further to 4.5 Percent

The Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department just released the latest GDP estimates on Oct. 31, saying that the GDP in the third quarter fell by 4.5 percent in real terms from a year earlier, while the decline in the second quarter was 1.3 percent. The decline in GDP was mainly attributable to the weak…


G7 Leaders and Scholars Criticize CCP for Shredding Hong Kong’s Autonomy and Economy

Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, traveled to Hong Kong on July 1, 2022, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of China’s takeover of Hong Kong in 1997. In his speech at the inauguration ceremony of the sixth chief executive of Hong Kong,  Xi repeatedly mentioned “one country, two systems,” praising how “great” it is, but this received…


Hang Seng Index is Increasingly Flooded with Mainland Stocks

Commentary Over the 25 years after the handover of Hong Kong’s sovereignty, Hong Kong has undergone tremendous changes in all segments of society. One most notable change during the past 25 years is the “Hang Seng Index (HSI),” which used to reflect the health of the Hong Kong stock market. It is now being dominated…


Hong Kong IPO Volumes Tumbled 92 Percent, PwC Cuts HK IPO Forecast by Half

PricewaterhjouseCoopers (PwC) noted Hong Kong’s IPO fund raising activities slowed down in the first half of this year. The total fund-raising amount reached HK$ 17.1 billion (about $2.2 billion) and is expected to contract by 92 percent year on year. Due to factors that contribute to increasing uncertainty, including the continued outbreak of COVID, geopolitical…


Hong Kong’s Poverty Rate at Record High

Poverty and unemployment in Hong Kong have reached a record high, and the national minimum wage has been frozen for the past three years. One political commentator blames the Chinese Communist Party for the current situation. Contrary to many countries that have raised the minimum wage to counter the negative impact of COVID-19, Hong Kong’s…


Chinese Enterprises and Tycoons are in a Money Transfer Frenzy, Singapore the Top Choice

A Chinese Tycoon from Fujian Province recently bought 20 units at Canninghill Piers, a luxury condominium development in Singapore. More and more Chinese tycoons are worried about leaving a large proportion of their money in mainland China and are transferring their assets abroad. Within this asset transfer fever, Singapore has become the number one safe…


Hong Kong’s Bankruptcy Filings Hit New High in April, HKMA Bought Nearly $7.5 Million USD to Defend Currency

Individual bankruptcy filings jumped to nearly 1,000 in April, a new high in Hong Kong since May 2020. At the same time, the Hong Kong dollar suffered the largest sell order, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) again intervened to buy nearly HK$5.9 billion (about $750 million). Analysts believe that the interest rate spread…


Hong Kong’s GDP Shrinks by 4 Percent in Q1, Full-Year Economic Growth Forecast Halved

Hong Kong’s economy contracted by 4 percent in the first quarter, disrupting the growth trend of the previous four quarters. The Hong Kong government adjusted its full-year economic growth forecast to nearly half of the original forecast. The economic contraction coincided with a sharp rise in the unemployment rate to 5.4 percent, the highest level…