Hong Kong is pumping billions of dollars into its economy in a bid to avert a recession as the city's political crisis disrupts business and slams financial markets.
The government announced a stimulus package worth about 19 billion Hong Kong dollars Thursday to help safeguard jobs and provide relief to"people's financial burden."Hong Kong's economy grew by just 0.6% in the second quarter, the weakest rate in a decade. Compared with the first quarter of 2019, GDP shrank by 0.3%. A contraction in the July-September quarter would tip the city of about 7 million people into recession.
It said the protests had affected Hong Kong's international image and damaged the retail trade, restaurants and tourism, piling pressure on an economy already feeling the impact of escalating trade tensions, geopolitical risks and heightened market uncertainty.The stimulus package includes tax cuts, extra social security payments and school subsidies.
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