Hong Kong optimistic on growth despite global slowdown, Paul Chan says

Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan struck an optimistic tone on the city's economic growth prospects, speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank's annual meetings in Bangkok even as broader concerns about a global slowdown continue to weigh on the outlook for many economies.

Chan's comments come at a moment when policymakers across the region have been grappling with a mixed picture: resilient pockets of growth alongside persistent headwinds from elevated borrowing costs, uneven trade conditions and softer demand in key export markets. Against that backdrop, striking an upbeat note on Hong Kong's own trajectory signals confidence that the city's particular mix of financial services, trade links and connectivity to mainland China can help it outperform the more cautious global trend.

Hong Kong's economy has faced its own specific challenges in recent years, including a slower property market, shifts in cross-border consumer spending patterns, and questions about its role as a financial hub amid broader geopolitical and economic realignment. Chan's remarks suggest the government sees enough underlying resilience, likely tied to the city's financial sector, tourism recovery and its positioning within China's broader economic orbit, to remain confident about growth even as other economies slow.

The Bangkok meetings have served as a venue for a range of finance officials to lay out their own growth assessments and concerns, from warnings about financial stability risks tied to surging tech investment to worries over developing-country debt burdens. Chan's comparatively confident framing for Hong Kong stands out against some of the more cautious notes struck by other officials at the same gathering, underscoring how unevenly growth prospects are currently being read across different economies and financial centers.