Hong Kong’s economic growth forecast of between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent for the year will not be affected by the Middle East war, which will hurt the trading sector but benefit the financial market, according to the city’s financial chief.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said on Saturday the city would remain vigilant over the impacts of Sino-US relations, while consolidating its traditional American and European markets and developing new ones in Asia.
His comments came ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Chan’s comments on the city’s economic forecast, which was announced in his budget on February 25, were his first since the US-Israeli war on Iran erupted last Saturday.
“When we are preparing for the budget, we have fully considered geopolitics … At the moment, we are relatively confident. We will work hard and hope to achieve the upper bound [of the range],” he said at a budget forum organised by the Hong Kong News-Expo.
According to the budget, the government expects growth of between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent this year. It has noted international challenges, such as frequent shifts in trade and economic policies in major advanced economies and a slower-than-expected pace of United States’ rate cuts.
