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Chen Maobo pointed out that under the fifth wave of the epidemic, the economic growth forecast will inevitably be lowered

2022-05-08T03:07:31.266Z


The epidemic has gradually eased. Financial Secretary Chen Maobo pointed out in his blog today (8th) that Hong Kong's economy grew by 4% in the first quarter of this year, ending the four consecutive quarters of improvement. During the period, private consumption expenditure fell by more than 5%, and fixed investment fell by more than 8%.


The epidemic has gradually eased. Financial Secretary Chen Maobo pointed out in his blog today (8th) that Hong Kong's economy grew by 4% in the first quarter of this year, ending the four consecutive quarters of improvement. During the period, private consumption expenditure fell by more than 5%, and fixed investment fell by more than 8%. , The overall export of goods fell by 4.5% in the first quarter, reflecting the situation is not optimistic, predicting that the economic growth forecast announced next week will inevitably need to be lowered.


Chen Maobo pointed out that the economic growth forecast is being reviewed and the latest forecast will be announced next week.

(File photo / Photo by Liang Pengwei)

The restaurant market in March was the worst ever, and the economic forecast for this year will be released next week.

Chen Maobo said that the value of local retail sales fell by 13.8% in March and fell by 7.6% in the first quarter.

The catering market is even more pressured. The total revenue of restaurants in March was only 3.93 billion yuan, the lowest monthly figure on record; the total in the first quarter was 15.1 billion yuan, the lowest in the past 16 years.

He said that although it is expected that economic data will improve slightly as the epidemic is gradually brought under control and economic activities recover slightly, the recovery of the internal economy will take time, and the external environment will continue to be uncertain and risks will increase, which will be unfavorable for Hong Kong's economic situation this year.

He pointed out that the economic growth forecast is being reviewed and the latest forecast will be released next week.

The United States enters the rate hike cycle, and the Hong Kong interest rate is expected to rise.

In addition, Chen Maobo pointed out that the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.5% last week, which was the first time in 22 years that the rate of increase reached half a percentage point. The trend of multiple interest rate hikes, the cumulative rate may reach 2.5% or more, and the bureau has also determined the scale and pace of reducing the balance sheet. The combination of the two will have a fundamental impact on the global supply of funds.

Entering the interest rate hike cycle, he believes that the rise in Hong Kong dollar interbank interest rates will increase mortgage repayment expenses for property owners; for small and medium-sized enterprises, the epidemic has hit both market demand and supply chain, and operations are still difficult, and interest rate hikes will also aggravate small and medium-sized enterprises. pressure on companies to repay their loans.

(Photo from Chen Maobo's blog)

The Legislative Council passed the "Appropriation Bill" last week. He pointed out that the counter-cyclical measures in the 2022-23 Budget can be smoothly rolled out, and also make arrangements for post-epidemic economic recovery and long-term development. and various policy bureaus will speed up the implementation of various measures in the Budget in various areas, including deepening the development of innovation and technology, and accelerating the development of the digital economy. develop.

Chen Maobo expects unemployment to fall back to over 29 billion last year's fiscal surplus for Easter | Chen Maobo expects second-quarter economic rebound, restaurant industry says boom will be extended to Mother's Day consumer coupons 37% increase in consumption coupons last year 2022|Only the second phase can be transferred to the platform Chen Maobo explained: more than 6 million people involved in the transfer of the platform consumption coupons 2022|Chen Maobo is expected to boost the economy by 1.2%, and the epidemic prevention products can be bought and the epidemic will be controlled and profits will recover

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2022-05-08

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