“The actual impact of this [coronavirus] epidemic on Hong Kong’s economy is quite large, and may be higher than the impact of SARS on the economy in 2003,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan wrote in a blog post.

“In addition to the epidemic, the local situation has not completely escaped the haze of last year’s social events. It is necessary to maintain a cautious attitude towards the short-term economic outlook.”

“Such ‘tsunami-like’ shocks may cause the unemployment rate to deteriorate rapidly. Indeed, the projected fiscal deficit for the new fiscal year (2020/21), in terms of amount, may be the highest ever.”

“The affected areas are no longer confined to retail, catering or tourism-related industries… I hope we can survive this economic winter that may

Read More At Article Source | Article Attribution

The post Hong Kong warns of coronavirus-related 'economic winter' – Seeking Alpha appeared first on RocketNews | Top News Stories From Around the Globe.