Global economy on the path of recovery: Paul Chan

The Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Sunday that he believed the global economy would be on the path to recovery this year, as vaccination programmes got underway.

Writing on his blog, he also said the easy monetary environment would contribute to the economy, which he said would gain greater momentum in the second half of the year.

Chan noted that the local exports of goods in the first two months of this year had surged 37.6 percent – much better than the 12 percent decrease recorded in the same period in 2020.

He said Hong Kong saw an economy recovery in the third quarter of last year, until another wave of Covid infections hit in November, pushing the unemployment rate to a 17-year-high of 7.2 percent.

Meanwhile the Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, writing on his own blog, said people should get their jabs as soon as possible, as this would also help the local economy to recover.

Cheung also asked the public to maintain social distancing over the long Easter break.