Economics
Hong Kong GDP Falls More Than Expected on Covid Curbs, Trade
- Financial hub’s economy contracts 4% in the first quarter
- More restrictions ease, though analysts cautious about rebound
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Hong Kong’s economy contracted last quarter for the first time in more than a year as local restrictions to curb Covid hit activity and China’s own omicron outbreak disrupted trade.
Gross domestic product fell 4% in the January-to-March period from a year earlier, according to advance estimates released by the government on Tuesday. The number -- Hong Kong’s first since the end of 2020 -- was far worse than a median estimate of a 1.3% contraction in a Bloomberg survey. It was also the biggest contraction since the third quarter of 2020.