Positive outlook for HK, mainland economies: BOC
Bank of China (Hong Kong) said the outlook for the SAR and mainland economies is positive. The bank said the local economy is seeing a stable recovery, with strong inbound tourist figures and low unemployment. But it also said retail sales remained weak and housing prices could drop "by a small margin" this year. On the world's second-largest economy, the bank believes it will reach its 5 percent growth target for 2024. "We still believe that the growth rate in China will eventually translate to the growth rate in China's enterprise sector, I mean all the corporates in China," said Ding Meng, senior economist of Bank of China (Hong Kong). "So we are anticipating the improvement of the profits prospect in China-related investments, so we are kind of positive for the stock market here in Hong Kong and also in mainland China." The bank also said it expects the US Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in September or December this year.