Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Sydney, June 7: Hong Kong’s economy will take a few quarters to pull itself out of its current downturn, Hong Kong’s chief executive Tung Chee-hwa said in an Australian television interview broadcast on Sunday. Tung also reiterated that the Chinese economy, which was crucial to Hong Kong’s future, was doing well and China would not devalue its currency. "We are now in a very painful period of economic restructuring, because years of high property values, high interest rates and very high wages have threatened our competitiveness here in Hong Kong," Tung told the Nine Network’s Business Sunday programme. "It will take a few quarters of a somewhat difficultperiod," he said. "I would say that our economy is in a downturn, and it will go on for a bit." Data released just over a week ago showed Hong Kong’s GDP contracted 2.0 per cent in the first quarter of 1998.
