Hong Kong’s economy suffered a 3.5 per cent contraction last year as the city struggled to preserve its status as Asia’s financial hub, but economists forecast a rebound to growth in 2023. The Chinese territory’s economy shrank 4.2 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to official government data released on Wednesday, marking a fourth consecutive quarter of contraction.
The full-year figure for 2022 was worse than government forecasts of a 3.2 per cent decline, while a contraction in the third quarter was revised down to 4.6 per cent, from 4.5 per cent.
Economists forecast Hong Kong’s economy to recover to 4 per cent growth in 2023, which would exceed regional rival Singapore, but warned it would take months for the battered economy to reach pre-pandemic output.