A "buyer's market" in the real estate segment does not necessarily prove weakness of the economy overall, it only reflects higher supply than demand in one specific sector, at the present moment. Think about the nature of cyclical movements and you should have second thoughts.
LCC growth does not necessarily correlate with negative growth of other aviation segments. Plus your own position within the LCC results in an overweighted experience of phenomena in this particular segment. Destinations and route restructure of an airline does not show you much without the corresponding data, the yield etc.
Closed shops in one area do not necessarily point to a bad overall economy, it can also simply show changing consumer preferences. Business might just have moved, from mall to online for example. Nightlife was concentrated in LKF and Wan Chai 20 years ago, now you have dozens of new areas, more choice, different customers etc. Shopping might no longer be the promising business model it once was, but that does not necessarily mean the overall HK business model is broken, but revenue might not be as "visible" as before. You don't "see" people buying online, working from home, you don't "see" financial markets, offshore trading, capital movements etc.
Some key figures:
GDP growth rate in Hong Kong in 2024
According to the revised figures released today by the Census and Statistics Department, real GDP grew by 2.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024 (same as the advance estimate), having increased by 4.3% in the preceding quarter.
HKIA traffic growth
For the first quarter of the year, the airport handled 12.7 million passengers, marking an increase of 81.7% compared to the low base during the same period in 2023. Flight movements registered a year-on-year increase of 63.7% to 86,210. Cargo volume rose by 18.9% year-on-year to more than 1.1 million tonnes.
Unemployment rate low and continues to fall
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.9% for the period between December 2023 and February 2024, unchanged from November 2023 to January 2024, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.18 Mar 2024
Hang Seng Index up 10.37% this year
Inflation
Consumer price inflation in Hong Kong averaged 2.5% in the ten years to 2022, above the Asia-Pacific regional average of 2.1%. The 2022 average figure was 1.9%.
Cathay Profit and Traffic numbers
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific reported its highest annual profit in more than a decade as strong travel demand buoyed the Hong Kong flag carrier’s earnings, with its chair declaring: "In 2023, we finally left the Covid-19 pandemic behind us.”The airline posted net profit of HK$9.8bn ($1.3bn) for the year on Wednesday, breaking a three-year streak of losses including a HK$6.6bn loss in 2022. Cathay shares rose nearly 4% after the earnings were released.