28.10.201913:01:00UTC+00Hong Kong Likely To Face Recession, Chan Says

Hong Kong is likely to face a recession this year as the economy is burdened by ongoing domestic protests, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a blog post.

It is extremely difficult to achieve the forecast of 0 to 1 percent economic growth this year, he wrote.

"It is impossible to rule out the possibility that the economy will experience negative growth throughout the year," he said.

The official third quarter GDP data is due on Thursday. A technical recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

Early this month, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the economy has already slipped into a technical recession.