Occupy Central could stunt Hong Kong’s growth, warns Financial Secretary John Tsang

Hong Kong's economic growth for this year could be lower than the government's earlier adjusted forecast of 2.2 per cent, the financial chief warned yesterday, as retail sales growth in October also slowed.

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah issued the warning after Occupy Central protesters escalated their actions and attempted to lay siege to the Chief Executive's Office.

Meanwhile, the Census and Statistics Department announced yesterday that retail sales in October rose 1.4 per cent compared to the same month last year. The year-on-year rise in September was 4.8 per cent.

"I am worried that, as the protests and political disputes go on, the consumer market will be further affected, and that the business environment will become more unstable," Tsang said.

In August, the government predicted real gross domestic product growth for the year of 2 to 3 per cent. That forecast was adjusted to 2.2 per cent last month.

But Tsang said yesterday that, amid continued uncertainty, there is a risk the figure could be even lower. The economy grew 2.7 per cent in the third quarter.

Although the Hong Kong Tourism Board's October figures showed that the number of visitors actually rose 12.6 per cent, with tourists from the mainland soaring by 18.3 per cent, Tsang pointed out there had been dips in the number of visitors from other countries.