Hong Kong’s Growth Slows as Omicron Spread Weighs on Economy

(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong’s economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter with the city facing mounting risks in coming months as it struggles to bring an omicron wave under control.

Gross domestic product expanded 4.8% last quarter from a year earlier, according to advanced estimates released Friday by the government, weaker than the 5% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 12 economists. Full-year growth was 6.4%, compared with a median estimate of 6.6%, the first annual expansion after two straight years of contraction.