2024-03-05 20:40:59
Hong Kong stocks fell following Li Qiang’s report, press conference became a hit
Premier Li Qiang of the State Council of the Communist Party of China delivered his first government work report during his tenure at the opening of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China on March 5, setting the economic growth target for 2024 at around 5%. However, the report failed to stimulate Hong Kong stocks as expected. Hong Kong stocks fell at the opening, and the decline once expanded to 500 points.
Li Qiang did not talk much regarding Hong Kong and Macao at the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China on the 5th. In addition to reiterating the unswerving implementation of consistent policies such as one country, two systems, Li Qiang also included in the report support for the two places to leverage their own strengths and participate in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. .
Commentator Liu Ruishao told Free Asia that this shows that Beijing has no tricks at its disposal for the economy, and the policies it has introduced previously have not been effective, making it difficult to fill China’s “economic hole.” Under the pressure of the situation, Hong Kong should be used to develop the Greater Bay Area.
After Li Qiang delivered the government work report, Hong Kong stocks opened lower and fell nearly 400 points an hour later. It continued to fall in the followingnoon, and the decline once expanded to 500 points, hitting a low of 16,095 points. It was last at 16,176 points, down 2.58%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was last at 5,566 points, down 2.56%. The Hang Seng Technology Index reported 3,334, down 4.03%.
The Epoch Times reported on the 5th that the “Two Sessions” of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the National People’s Congress have opened in the past two days. Previously, all walks of life in Hong Kong, especially stock investors, expected that Beijing would announce some measures to stimulate the economy at the “Two Sessions”, which would make the economy weak for many years. Hong Kong stocks benefited. But now it seems that it is clearly the opposite.
In addition, the prime minister’s press conference held following the two sessions has a long history. It is not only the “highlight” of the two sessions, but also an important window to showcase Beijing’s policies and propositions to the world. The National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China announced at its press conference on March 4 that this meeting and the Prime Minister’s Press Conference would be canceled in the next few years, which shocked everyone from all walks of life.
Some reports quoted Huang Jinhui, a member of the Hong Kong Political Consultative Conference, saying that the news was “weird”. Huang also called the National People’s Congress and said: “It would be better if there was an explanation.”
Liu Ruishao told Radio Free Asia that even if there is a “positive” official statement, due to the lack of transparency of the Chinese Communist government itself, the incident will inevitably lead to “negative associations and doubts”.
Liu Ruishao also pointed out that it is doubtful whether Beijing can introduce new policies in the next two or three years. “If it cannot hand over its future ambitions, then it is better not to do it.”
The Prime Minister’s press conference was a sudden success, and Hong Kong media and Western media began to review the golden words left by previous Prime Ministers.
Among them, Zhu Rongji once set the rules for press conferences, including “trying to give overseas reporters the opportunity to ask questions as much as possible” and not making arrangements in advance. Journalists can ask any questions.
When former Prime Minister Wen Jiabao addressed the Hong Kong issue, he used the poem “Every inch of the river and every inch of gold” written by the late Qing poet Huang Zunxian to describe it. He also rarely spoke directly regarding the issue of political reform at his last press conference, saying that without the success of the political system reform, the economic system reform cannot be carried out to the end, and the results of reform and construction that have been achieved may be lost once more. The problems that have arisen cannot be fundamentally solved, and historical tragedies such as the “Cultural Revolution” may happen once more.
The most impressive thing regarding the late former Prime Minister Li Keqiang is that at the press conference following the two sessions held when the CCP virus (new crown) epidemic broke out in 2020, the Prime Minister said that China “has 600 million people whose monthly income is only 1,000 Yuan, 1,000 yuan may be difficult to rent in a medium-sized city.”
Akio Yaita, a senior media person and director of the Nippon Sankei Shimbun branch in Taipei, analyzed that the Prime Minister’s Press Conference is the only platform for foreign media to directly talk to the top leaders of the CCP, but in fact it cultivates political stars such as Wen Jiabao and Li Keqiang through pre-arranged questions. That’s all. Xi Jinping is very concerned regarding the limelight of his subordinates. In order to prevent Li Qiang from stealing his limelight and thus losing his authority, he canceled the prime minister’s press conference. Li Qiang also understands that everything is settled now and cannot challenge Xi’s authority. He simply does not hold a press conference and does not seek the limelight.
Hong Kong PMI drops continuously, Macau leads the ranking of wealth
The Hong Kong government has continued to promote market rescue policies recently, but the economic performance seems to be showing no improvement. S&P Global announced the latest Hong Kong PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) on the 5th. It recorded 49.7 in February, further weakening from 49.9 last month. It was the second consecutive month below the 50 boom and bust line, reflecting the improvement in the business environment for two consecutive months. Difference.
S&P Global Survey pointed out that the number of new orders received by Hong Kong’s private companies fell for two consecutive months in February, with the degree of contraction being the most severe since October last year.
Due to a drop in orders, companies have scaled back operations for the first time in three months, with industry data showing that the manufacturing industry has seen the most significant production cuts.
Cost inflation picked up, hitting a three-month high. However, the increase in output and selling prices dropped to the lowest in two years, reflecting pressure on the company’s profits.
Jinyi Pan, deputy director of S&P Global Market Intelligence Economics Research Department, said that February PMI data showed that Hong Kong’s business environment is still under pressure. Looking forward to sales prospects, companies are generally pessimistic, so they are restrained in passing on costs for fear of further intruding on market demand.
However, she said one of the bright spots in the data was a recovery in job growth, albeit at a modest pace.
In addition, the American financial magazine Global Finance recently announced a ranking of the richest regions. The top three are Ireland, Luxembourg and Singapore. Macau ranks fifth in the world with a purchasing power parity per capita GDP of nearly US$90,000, while Hong Kong ranks 12th in the world with more than US$70,000.
Data from the Statistics and Census Service of the Macau Government show that the year-on-year real changes in Macau’s GDP in the first quarter, second quarter and first half of this year were revised to 33.0%, 102.0% and 62.3% respectively; in the third quarter, the year-on-year real growth was 116.1%. %, mainly due to the strong performance of service exports; the GDP in the first three quarters of this year increased by 77.7% year-on-year in real terms, and the overall economic aggregate returned to 77.4% of the same period in 2019.
Data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department show that Hong Kong’s real GDP grew by 2.9% and 1.5% year-on-year in the first two quarters of this year respectively, and in the third quarter it grew by 4.1% year-on-year. The economic growth forecast for 2023 is 3.2%.
Decoupling speeds up Beijing’s urgent call for MPs to return to Hong Kong to deal with 23 items
The Hong Kong government’s public consultation on the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law just ended last Wednesday. It is reported that a meeting related to Article 23 will be held this Wednesday (6th). It is expected that the Article 23 legislation can be read for the first time in the Legislative Council as soon as next Wednesday and be completed before the national “National Security Education Day” on April 15. Legislative work.
A number of Hong Kong media quoted reports that many Legislative Council members who are members of the Hong Kong People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference will “take leave” following attending the opening ceremony of the National People’s Congress on the 5th and return to Hong Kong to prepare to attend the Legislative Council on Wednesday (March 6). A joint meeting of three committees was held to discuss legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law.
Chief Executive Li Jiachao, who was originally scheduled to return to Hong Kong on the 6th, also stated on the 5th that he had completed his main trip to Beijing and would return to Hong Kong that evening.
It is understood that two weeks following the first reading of draft Article 23 of the Basic Law, members must complete their deliberation. Some politicians estimate that Article 23 will be passed by the Legislative Council in April. Because April 15 is the National Security Education Day for all people, and the National Day celebrations will start, it is necessary to complete the legislation of Article 23 as soon as possible.
Regarding Beijing’s urgent call for Hong Kong government officials to return to Hong Kong to speed up the legislation of Article 23, Liu Mengxiong, a former member of the Hong Kong Political Consultative Conference, told VOA that Beijing has judged that there is a great chance of confrontation, camp formation, decoupling, confrontation or even war with the United States and other Western countries. Therefore, In order to plug the so-called national security loopholes as soon as possible, it is not unexpected to make the above arrangements.
Liu Mengxiong pointed out that Western countries, especially foreign investors, have many doubts regarding Article 23. If the Hong Kong government quickly passes the legislation in regarding one month, it will undermine the confidence of foreign investors and accelerate Hong Kong’s transformation into an international financial center.
Liu Mengxiong also cited the Hang Seng Index falling below 97 on the 5th day of the handover of sovereignty as an example, saying that it reflects that investors’ confidence in Hong Kong’s prospects is full of uncertainty, instability and insecurity.
Chen Jialuo, associate professor of the Department of Politics and International Relations of Baptist University, said that the 23-article consultation document does not contain detailed legal provisions and related definitions at all. If it is completed in a few weeks, it will be “very rough” and “hasty”, which will not only be unable to explain In addition to external concerns, it is further highlighted that the previous public consultation was a fake consultation.
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