Hong Kong retail sector posts ‘ideal’ 13 per cent growth but US-China trade war squeeze looms
Latest official figures show impressive double-digit expansion in the first half of 2018, and retailers are optimistic going forward despite headwinds from trade row
Hong Kong’s retail industry basked in double-digit growth in the first half of the year, according to the latest government figures released on Wednesday, and retailers have expressed confidence for the second half despite the threat posed by the escalating US-China trade war and weakening yuan.
Shoppers spent HK$248 billion (US$31.6 billion) between January and June, up a healthy 13.4 per cent on the same period last year.
In June the sector recorded its fifth consecutive month of double-digit growth, at a better-than-expected 12 per cent.
The Hong Kong Retail Management Association called the figures “ideal” but cautioned that expansion was set to slow. Its chairman forecast high single-digit growth in the second half and a full-year figure of about 10 per cent, citing China’s trade spat with the United States as a restraining factor.
Early last month Washington slapped 25 per cent tariffs on US$34 billion worth of Chinese goods. Beijing responded in kind with its own 25 per cent duty on US imports worth a similar amount.