Hi Mark, Singapore had gone negative growth (contraction) last year, whereas HK had held more or less at 5% growth.
I believe HK's ills has far more to do world economy and our cost structure than with Shanghai; but Shanghai, and in fact China/WTO, does require HK to make painful adjustment.
Hong Kong is more at the beginning of the world product/consumption value chain, and thus goes down first and should recover first, if it recovers at all.
Right now there are absolutely no signs of any recovery.
Some friends' manufacturing businesses (China factories, international markets) are doing better than before, because their competitors are no more. Better in the sense that orders have increased, but not in the meaning that profit is going up, and so the consumption economy still suffers because net net ^%^*%$ net, matters are down, and spending by all, without known exception, are down.
Chugs, Jay |
