Hong Kong deep in recession as GDP dives 8.9%

HONG KONG (China Daily/ANN): Hong Kong has sunk deep into recession with its economy posting its steepest quarterly plunge on record, shrinking by nearly 9 percent in the first three months of this year, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 8.9 per cent year-on-year dive in the gross domestic product was the biggest fall since the government began tracking comparable data in 1974. The figure beats both the city’s 8.3 percent contraction during the 1998 Asian financial crisis and a 7.8 per cent drop in early 2009 on the heels of the global financial rout.