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44% of businesses have negative economic outlook for Hong Kong, poll finds

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About 44 per cent of businesses have a negative economic outlook for Hong Kong for the next 12 months, the highest level in five years, according to a survey by one of the city’s most prominent commerce groups.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce released the findings of its annual survey on Thursday, after interviewing 219 respondents from November 12 to 26. Research started just days before Donald Trump clinched the US presidential election.

Patrick Yeung Wai-tim, the business group’s CEO, said: “Trump is famous for not deciding which move to make until the very end a lot of the time … Increased geopolitical uncertainty has led companies to adopt a wait-and-see approach.”

The poll found that 44.3 per cent of respondents had a negative outlook on Hong Kong’s business situation, surpassing the previous high point of 40.1 per cent recorded in the 2020 survey.

Major challenges cited by businesses included the decline in local consumption, high operating costs and external risks such as China’s economic slowdown and the sluggish global economy.

According to the survey, the number of companies that planned to increase their investment in Hong Kong over the 12 months stood at about 14 per cent, a drop from last year’s figure of 18 per cent.

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