Hong Kong: Trade war results in weak GDP growth - ING

Iris Pang, economist at ING, notes that Hong Kong’s GDP growth was weaker than expected at 3.0% for the whole of 2018 and 1.3%YoY in 4Q18.

Key Quotes

“This was mainly a result of the trade war, which dampened export activities and related jobs in Hong Kong and on the Mainland, with negative feedback into consumption in Hong Kong.”

“Investment only grew by 2.2% in 2018, which was lower than the first three quarters' average of 4.5%YoY. We believe that this is also a result of the trade war, causing businesses to defer their investment decisions.”