HK recovery uneven despite high GDP: economist

A local economist said Hong Kong’s third-quarter GDP performance has lifted business sentiment, but the recovery remains uneven and will take time to broaden. Ho Lok-sang, adjunct professor with the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures at the Education University of Hong Kong, made the assessment as advance estimates showed Hong Kong’s economy grew 5.2 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2026. The clearest sign of recovery, he said, was in prime office space. "Especially for the Grade A centrally located locations, [the] office take-up rate is pretty impressive," he said. "Now, certainly it’s recovering." But Ho stressed that the strength is not spreading beyond that segment. "On the outside of the Grade A and centrally located areas, office demand is still relatively weak, and the demand for commercial properties is still relatively weak," he said. He added that a broader recovery will not come quickly and will likely depend on lower rents. "I think that it will take quite some time to recover, and I think recovery will also necessitate a decline in rents," Ho said. Ho was more upbeat about the rest of the year's outlook. "Definitely the full year growth is going to be quite strong, and...