Hong Kong (CNN Business)Months of protests in Hong Kong that forced shops to close, paralyzed public transportation and scared off tourists have left the city’s economy in worse shape than feared.
Hong Kong plunged into recession in the third quarter, according to official data released Thursday. The economy shrank 3.2% during the three months to September, compared to the previous quarter. That’s a sharp slowdown from the 0.5% contraction recorded in the second quarter, and much worse than economists had expected.
With no immediate resolution to the city’s political crisis on the cards, Hong Kong’s first recession in a decade could extend into the new year. Compared to the previous year, the economy shrank 2.9% in the third quarter.
