Exclusive | Coronavirus: Hong Kong still walking an economic tightrope, commerce minister warns
- The city has endured a difficult year but the pain may not be over yet, Edward Yau tells the Post
- Hong Kong is being further squeezed by the trade war between Washington and Beijing, where no one stands to win, he says
Any rebound would depend on how the health crisis evolved – if it grew worse, the city risked returning to a standstill, the secretary for commerce and economic development said.
“Hong Kong needs to get prepared for things to continue to slip,” Yau said. “We have not yet seen a major recovery. Whether the [economic] situation will continue to slide or be contained, it depends on the pandemic. If the coronavirus worsens, people will lock themselves down to protect themselves, particularly in Hong Kong.”
Against that backdrop, Yau doubted global boundaries or checkpoints would reopen in the immediate future.
“I don’t think there is immediate reopening of the boundaries or border points particularly when the pandemic is still hitting very hard with hundreds of thousands of casualties and millions of people suffering and the overall numbers are still on the rise,” he said.
But local containment measures had proved effective so far, which gave Hongkongers “comfort, if not confidence, to come out and spend”, Yau said.
Hotels are selling “staycation” package deals while retailers and restaurants are offering discounts and other incentives to encourage people to spend, with their campaigns ramping up ahead of the government’s cash handout of HK$10,000 (US$1,290).
