This aerial photo taken on June 27, 2017 shows the scenery on both sides of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. XINHUA HONG KONG - Hong Kong's economy is showing steady improvement in the second quarter as the fifth wave of COVID 19 infections is gradually put under control, according to Paul Chan Mo-poChan Mo-po, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.
Hong Kong's unemployment rate will take some time to drop, due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic, he said in a blog post.
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The Hong Kong's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 5 percent for the period between January and March, compared to the previous quarter, according to official data.
While Hong Kong's economy is gradually stabilizing and local inflation is relatively moderate, he said that Hong Kong must be vigilant to the external environment, especially the geopolitical situation and the movement of interest rates and their impact on the global economy, capital flows, asset prices and financial market.
The exchange rate and Hong Kong interest rates will not be affected by the US interest rate hike cycle, Chan said, and Hong Kong will keep a close watch on the trend of Hong Kong interest rates and the exchange rate of the Hong Kong dollar.
On Sunday, Hong Kong had 221 new COVID 19 cases by nucleic acid tests and 208 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, according to official data.