Hong Kong economy resilient as protests end

Global Business

Hong Kong is getting back to business as the Occupy Central protests come to an end, and the barricades come down. Economists said the disruptions had limited impact on the city’s economy. CCTV America’s Cathy Yang reported this story.

In Mongkok, traffic was flowing again after authorities removed the barricades, helping retailers recover some of its lost business. Some weren’t hurt as much as predicted. The latest available data showed retail sales in October came in slightly better than expectations.

Some economists are forecasting more growth this year.

“We don’t think Hong Kong will fall into a technical recession. We still see a moderate growth in Q4,” chief economist of ANZ Banking Group Li-Gang Liu said.

The recovery in external demand also helped Hong Kong’s economy.

“If you have a rise in exports, you have a rise of export revenues and a rise of earnings for companies,” Senior Asia Economist of Euler Hermes Mahamoud Islam said.

But Hong Kong’s deep-seated economic challenges still remain. Soaring rents, rising consumer prices and stagnant wages continue to beset Hong Kong the way they did, even before the street protests began.


Raymond Yeung of ANZ discusses the impact of demonstrations on Hong Kong economy

CCTV America interviewed Raymond Yeung, a senior economist at ANZ in Hong Kong, about impact of demonstrations on Hong Kong economy.