FROM PAGE B4

For the first half of 2022, a visible trade deficit of $206.1 billion, equivalent to 8.2 per cent of the value of imports of goods, was recorded.

“Weakened global demand and continued disruptions to cross-boundary land cargo flows between the mainland and Hong Kong weighed heavily on Hong Kong’s exports,” the government said Monday.

Monetary policy tightening by major central banks around the world is expected to dampen global economic growth significantly while quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and mainland China is yet to have a clear timetable under Beijing’s strict adherence to its zero covid policy.

The financial hub’s new leader John Lee said his government would soon announce further shortening of mandatory hotel quarantine for overseas arrivals, according to an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal published on Monday.

“Connecting with the world and with the mainland, we shall do both and they are not contradictory,” Lee told the newspaper.

“I understand that one of Hong Kong’s competitiveness lies in its international connections.” In following China’s zero covid policy, Hong Kong has been largely cut off from the rest of the world for more than two years.