Hang Seng taking hits from uncertainty, unrest

HONG Kong has been hit hard this year. Its economic outlook continues to worsen as civil unrest shows no sign of cessation, trade disputes remain unresolved and prospects for China deteriorate.

Months of protests have hindered Hong Kong's economic growth. We have seen retail sales declining 23 per cent year-on-year in August 2019 and tourism arrivals plummeting close to 40 per cent during the same period.

To put things in perspective, the tourism industry is one of the major pillars of Hong Kong's economy and contributed to around 5 per cent of its GDP in 2016. Of this, a huge contribution comes from mainland tourists with close to 80 per cent of tourist arrivals in 2018.