Hong Kong’s unemployment rate, which recently hit a three-year high of 3.9 per cent, is expected to stabilise or even decline as the economy gains positive momentum, according to the city’s financial chief.
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Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po expressed optimism on Sunday following the government’s revision of its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2025 from 2 to 3 per cent, to 3.2 per cent. This revision takes into account the actual growth of 3.3 per cent recorded in the first three quarters of the year and the near-term outlook.
He credited the upgrade to a quarter that achieved the highest growth in more than 1.5 years, driven by robust exports, consumption and investment. The economy grew by 3.8 per cent in the third quarter, marking its 11th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.
Chan told a radio show on Sunday that Hong Kong had attracted significant capital amid the US-China trade war thanks to its determination to maintain itself as a free port. Hong Kong’s currency peg to the US dollar has also helped the city become a refuge for capital.
“We have become a safe harbour for some people who dare not hold US bonds directly to hold ours,” Chan said, adding it had led to a sharp rise in bank deposits.
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“As the economy continues to improve, the financial market is buoyant and the asset market is stabilising, this will give everyone more confidence to spend,” he said, pointing to an increase in transactions in the property market, with prices having gone up by 1.1 per cent since the start of the year.
