The Asian Financial Forum opens at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on Jan 11, 2023. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)
China’s economic recovery will be a significant boost to the global economy, with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region being an “immediate beneficiary”, a forum heard on Wednesday.
Describing the economic challenges faced by the world as “very difficult”, HSBC Holdings Plc Chairman Mark Tucker said at the Asian Financial Forum that China’s reopening and a package of measures to stabilize the property market will be positive for both the country and the globe despite the resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
Standard Chartered Group Chairman José Viñals said the reopening of China is going to contribute to Asian growth “very significantly”, adding that the Hong Kong SAR will benefit a lot from that
“Hong Kong and the entire Greater Bay Area are likely to be immediate beneficiaries of the Chinese mainland’s reopening and I expect to see a strong recovery from the second quarter onwards,” he said.
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The sentiment was shared by the chairman of the Agricultural Bank of China, Gu Shu. “China will strive to accelerate economic recovery in 2023 and will begin to achieve faster growth in the second quarter,” Gu said, adding that the priorities will be given to rebooting confidence and expanding domestic demand.
Gu said it’s confidence that could provide the basis for promoting development across different sectors such as consumption, the housing market, and investment from private sectors and overseas entities.
“The encouraging policies and measures issued recently will help regain confidence and solid ground for China’s economy to grow as a whole,” he said.
Gu added that consumption accounts for two-thirds of China’s GDP, and the country’s ongoing efforts to upgrade its industry system will further promote domestic demand.
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Addressing the same event, Standard Chartered Group Chairman José Viñals said the reopening of China is going to contribute to Asian growth “very significantly”, adding that the Hong Kong SAR will benefit a lot from that.
“Hong Kong, with its amazing resilience and vitality, I think it’s going to contribute to spreading that growth coming from China and play an important part in the recovery of Asia,” he said.
evanliu@chinadailyhk.com