Exclusive | Hong Kong economy better off than most despite IMF downgrade, says commerce minister
- Economic development secretary Edward Yau sees silver lining despite prediction of worst performance in 20 years
- But Yau says eventual impact of coronavirus still unknown
In an exclusive interview with the Post, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah said the local economy was unlikely to be the coronavirus’ biggest victim, after the IMF’s latest forecast that the city’s GDP would decline 4.8 per cent year on year, from the 0.2 per cent growth it predicted last December.
On Wednesday the global body downgraded forecasts for economies around the world, including Hong Kong, all of which had been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Various sectors have taken serious hits amid locked-down cities, an economic storm exacerbated by the ballooning number of infected patients and related deaths. As of Thursday, more than 2.05 million people had fallen ill worldwide, and there had been over 134,000 deaths.
“We are fighting two battles, one with the pandemic and the other saving the economy. We can only win the first one before winning the second one,” Yau said. “If there is no synchronised recovery on global economies, one will jack another.”
