{
  "id": 12601375,
  "title": "Hong Kong finance chief says economy grew in third quarter, warns of external risks",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/hong-kong-finance-chief-says-economy-grew-in-third-quarter-warns-of-12601375",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-07T10:00:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3370061/hong-kong-finance-chief-says-economy-grew-third-quarter-warns-external-risks"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hong Kong's economy expanded in the third quarter this year, with strong growth in exports and tourism, according to Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po. Despite the positive trends, Chan warned of external risks such as global inflation, the Middle East conflict, and other potential challenges. He reiterated that he expected the economy to grow between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent in 2023, with the GDP increasing by 5.1 per cent in the first half of the year, the strongest half-year performance in nearly five years.\n\nWhile confident that the full-year target of 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent growth would be met, Chan emphasized that the government would continue to closely monitor potential risks, including volatile situations in the Middle East and deteriorating global inflation trends. He also highlighted the surge in merchandise exports, with a 52 per cent year-on-year increase in July and August, extending a double-digit growth streak to 19 months. Visitor arrivals continued to rise, with a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first nine months to approximately 41 million.\n\nChan stressed that Hong Kong's economy had been hard-fought, and the city should remain focused on high-quality development in the next phase. The legislature began a three-day debate on the city's first five-year plan and annual policy blueprint, with the first session dedicated to economic, finance, aviation, logistics, and trade matters. Lawmakers called for strengthening Hong Kong's roles as a global offshore renminbi powerhouse, gold trading center, and aviation hub, suggesting measures to attract more investment and support the city's development.",
  "summary": "Hong Kong’s economy continued to expand in the third quarter of this year, driven by strong exports and tourism, the city’s finance chief has said, while warning of risks including the war in the Middle East and inflation. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also reiterated his confidence that the economy would grow by between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent this year. He was speaking during a…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
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        "outlet": "Hong Kong Free Press",
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        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/taiwan-accuses-hong-kong-residents-of-hiring-4-people-to-spy-on",
        "published": "2026-10-07T07:45:44.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}