Hong Kong economy grows 3.3 percent in Q2

Hong Kong's economy grew 3.3 percent in the second quarter on a year-on-year basis, according to official advance estimates released on Wednesday. That compares with a revised 2.8 percent expansion in the first quarter. In a statement, the government attributed the second quarter growth to an increase in exports and investment spending, saying it expects the economy to continue to expand. "Looking ahead, the economy should continue to grow in the remainder of the year, but performance of the different economic segments may vary amid uncertainties on various fronts," a spokesperson said. "Meanwhile, heightened geopolitical tensions, escalating trade conflicts, and US interest rate trajectory remaining not entirely clear may add uncertainties to economic sentiment and activities." Speaking to RTHK, Natixis Asia Pacific economist Gary Ng said the figure for the second quarter was slightly higher than he expected, but pressures still remain. "Some of the other components, such as the contraction in the household spending and also the greater growth in the import of services, which is basically reflecting the outbound tourism and also the rebound in investment, which basically just get back to the pre-Covid level and is still 16 percent lower than 2018 for the same period," he said. "I think these are all the sorts of pressures that I would see within the economy that can actually drag the growth rate further in the future."