Hong Kong's Budget Surplus Shrinks as the List of Headwinds Grows

  • Property market, slower expansion curb city’s cash pile
  • Hong Kong economy caught in U.S.-China trade war crossfire
Paul ChanPhotographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg
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Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan will have a much smaller pile of cash to distribute than last year when he presents the annual budget Wednesday, and a longer list of problems to address.

The economy has slowed as the trading hub found itself wedged between the U.S.-China standoff and the property market has come off its record highs. Both of those factors have shrunk the fiscal surplus available to Chan to a figure likely below HK$60 billion ($7.6 billion), down from HK$149 billion last year.