Hong Kong revised down its estimate for economic growth this year as political unrest grips the city, with the government now forecasting the first annual contraction since the global financial crisis a decade ago.
Gross domestic product will contract 1.3 per cent in 2019 from the previous year, the government said Friday as it released final output calculations for the third quarter. In the three months to September, GDP contracted 3.2 per cent from the previous quarter, the government said, confirming an initial estimate.
The grim outlook brings the official view of the economy in line with what’s visible in Hong Kong’s streets, with shopping malls, restaurants and stores shuttered or on shorter hours in many districts amid unpredictable and often violent protests against the government.
The political downdraft has compounded the slowdown already underway this year amid a weaker Mainland China economy and the trade war with the US.