Annual Report 2015
EXECUTIVE VICE-CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
33
happened in the same space and
time, depicting the multiplicity of
reality.
The latest economic landscape of
Hong Kong depends on two major
factors, namely the policy trend
and economi c pe r f o rmance o f
Mainland China on the one hand,
and the interest rate change of
the United States on the other
hand. Since the introduction of
accommodative monetary policy
by the Central Government in late
2014, improvements have been
seen in fixed-asset investments and
retail consumption, alleviating the
constrained export performance
under global economic slowdown.
China’s economic growth in the
second quarter of 2015 managed to
stay at 7%, showing China’s efforts
in adapting to the new norms under
which China’s economic growth is
turning from high-speed to medium-
to-high speed, and to the adjustment
of industrial structure. It is expected
imbalanced prospects of growth
across different regions. The drop in
oil prices has put the United States
in a leading position in terms of
the pace of economic growth. In
Russia, which relies heavily on the
export of oil and its by-products,
economic performance nevertheless
encountered tremendous downside
pressure. Economic performance has
been relatively stable in developed
economies in the Eurozone, such as
Germany and the United Kingdom.
However, the debate over Greece’s
possibility of pulling out of the
Eurozone has given rise to enormous
uncertainties underlying the region.
Slackened economic growth has
come to China and a number of
emerging economies, which rely
upon international export trade. The
appreciation of the US dollars is
causing international capital to flow
from emerging markets back to the
United States, elevating financial
risks in some regions. The best and
the worst, light and darkness, all
OUTLOOK
“It was the best of times, it was
the worst of times, it was the
age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of
belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was
the season of Darkness, it was the
spring of hope, it was the winter of
despair, we had everything before us,
we had nothing before us, we were
all going direct to Heaven, we were
all going direct the other way.” This
is the social setting, both positive
and negative, illustrated in the first
chapter of A Tale of Two Cities by
renowned writer Charles Dickens
in the nineteenth century. From the
viewpoint of a modern-day person,
this is also a good manifestation of
the acute contradictions arising from
the complicated economic landscape
in the modern world.
I n 2 0 1 5 , t h e g l o b a l e c o n omy
recovered at variant pace, with
