We will return to business as usual in 2023

This article is part of a Forbes article on the richest people in Hong Kong in 2023.See full list here.

Hong Kong’s economic growth is set to accelerate this year as the city abandons Covid-19, reopens with restricted borders with mainland China, and returns to business as usual. In 2022, tailwinds from Beijing’s zero Covid policy, rising global interest rates and slowing demand will cause GDP to contract by his 3.5% and exports to fall sharply.

The job market continues to strengthen and the unemployment rate is expected to remain below 3.5% this year. This is also thanks to the government’s program over the last two years to revitalize domestic spending with consumption vouchers. The budget deficit is expected to widen to 5.6% in 2022, but could return to a budget surplus this year as the city moves away from pandemic aid. Still, deteriorating macro-environment and fears of a global recession could drag on a full economic recovery. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong dollar has been Asia’s worst performer so far this year as some investors question whether his peg to the US dollar, in place since 1983, is still valid. .