HONG KONG, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- It is likely Hong Kong will register a quarter-on-quarter negative growth in the third quarter, the finance chief of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government said on Saturday.
Speaking with reporters, Paul Chan, financial secretary of the SAR government, said the economic data for the quarter is being compiled and the negative impact has been quite strong on tourism-related industries, and food and beverage-related industries.
"Our initial assessment is that the economic performance for the third quarter would still be very challenging," Chan said.
It is highly likely that Hong Kong would be registering a quarter-on-quarter negative growth again for the third quarter. If that is the case, then technically Hong Kong will be in recession, he added.
"We are monitoring the situation very closely and will see what the SAR government can do to support our small and medium-sized enterprises and to sustain employment," he noted.
The SAR government has recently introduced a number of measures to address the challenges of the current economic environment and alleviate unemployment in Hong Kong.
Latest comments