China News Agency, Beijing, February 2 (Reporter Xia Bin) A reporter from China News Agency learned on the 2nd that HSBC Global Research recently released the 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Economic Outlook Report with the theme of restarting, recovering, and promoting growth. It is expected that as the mainland resumes customs clearance, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will give full play to its advantages, and the economy is expected to rebound in 2023.
Liu Jing, chief economist for Greater China at HSBC Global Research, said that the economic rebound in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is imminent.
Economic activities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be dragged down by the epidemic in 2022, and the real estate and service industries will be hit the hardest.
As the mainland adjusts and optimizes the epidemic prevention and control policies, it is expected that the number of customs clearance will gradually return to the pre-epidemic level.
The recovery of accommodation and catering consumption will be particularly obvious, and Guangdong's consumption growth rate is expected to rebound from last year's negative range.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong and Macau, the normalization of cross-border travel will boost the local retail sector.
Hong Kong's retail sales growth rate is expected to rebound to 15% year-on-year in 2023, while Macau's retail sales growth rate may reach as high as 20% year-on-year.
Liu Jing pointed out that considering the national strategy of building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into a world-renowned urban agglomeration, the advantages of Guangdong's manufacturing industry and Hong Kong's financial expertise can form a greater synergy.
"We expect macro policies to focus more on economic growth in 2023, and the local government in Guangdong may continue to introduce tax rebates, targeted credit support and other measures to support local manufacturing companies. Although the slowdown in external demand growth seems inevitable, Guangdong has Strong incentives to keep its manufacturing and exports competitive."
Liu Jing mentioned that there is a high probability that Guangdong will continue to receive the highest special bond quota in the country this year, and it may promote the expansion of infrastructure investment to areas such as green and sustainable development.
Hong Kong has big plans, too.
In the 2022-2023 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government budget, 100 billion Hong Kong dollars will be earmarked for housing, transportation and infrastructure in the northern metropolitan area.
(Finish)