UBS lifted its full-year economic growth forecast for Hong Kong to 4.5 percent on Monday, despite the city’s second-quarter figure falling short of market estimates.
The bank’s projection, revised from its previous forecast of 3.3 percent, is higher than the prevalent market expectation of 3.5 percent.
UBS said that Hong Kong’s economy is expected to continue expanding in a stable way, adding that the successful formulation and implementation of the Five-Year Plan will help stabilize Hong Kong’s growth performance across different business cycles and promote its potential growth over the medium to long term.
UBS Securities’ chief China economist, Song Yu, pointed out that a significant signal was that the policy tone has shifted towards prioritizing growth, and that monetary and fiscal policies will adjust accordingly.
In the second quarter, the city’s gross domestic product rose by 4.3 percent year-on-year, below the market expectation of 4.9 percent.