HONG KONG, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s economy will remain buoyant this year, growing by 2.5%-3.5%, with an expected return to a more robust fiscal position following several years of budget deficits, financial secretary Paul Chan said in his annual budget speech on Wednesday.
“In the medium term, protectionism will persist in some major economies, while fragmentation of the global economy will continue. Nevertheless, the rise of the “Global South” and the reshaping of the global trade and investment landscape will unlock new markets and new growth areas for Hong Kong,” Chan said.
The financial hub is also redoubling its focus on the technology and AI sector to bolster integration with mainland China’s longer term national policy blueprint, or Five-Year Plan, Chan said, amid challenges including trade tension and Chinese economic fragility.
“The Chief Executive will lead a cross-bureau, cross-departmental task force for Hong Kong to proactively align with the 15th Five-Year Plan, and for the first time, to formulate Hong Kong’s five-year plan,” he said.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Clare Jim, Donny Kwok, James Pomfret and Anne Marie Roantree; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Kim Coghill)
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