Hong Kong's economy is expected to grow by between three and four percent next year according to a senior executive at HSBC Holdings Plc, a Hong Kong government-run radio station said on Saturday. HSBC general manager Raymond Or said he expected the strong growth Hong Kong has seen this year following the SARS outbreak of 2003 is unlikely to be repeated, RTHK radio said on its website.
Currency instability and quick growth in the Chinese economy might also have an impact on Hong Kong's economy, Or added.
Or was also reported as saying conditions are not yet ripe for the Chinese yuan to be floated, but said the People's Bank of China may allow the yuan to fluctuate by up to five percent. He did not offer a time frame.
China is under heavy international pressure to free up its currency system but has said it will do so in its own time.
HSBC is Hong Kong's biggest lender and accounts for over one-third of the weighting of the Hang Seng Index.