COVID-19 epidemic causes near 9 pct GDP slip in Q1 in Hong Kong

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted 8.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, the largest recorded decline since the reference period of the first quarter of 1974, as the COVID-19 pandemic has weakened both domestic and external demand, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Monday.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's economy fell 3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, according to advance estimates of the Census and Statistics Department of the HKSAR government.