歐債危機日記 - 2011/9/5

歐債危機衝擊亞洲經濟

Sept. 5, 2011, 1:16 a.m. EDT

Hong Kong data indicate big slowdown

By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch

Reuters

Hong Kong's financial district

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) –- Fears that Hong Kong could be poised for a significant slowdown grew Monday after a survey of business conditions in August yielded the weakest result in more than two years.

Hong Kong’s Purchasing Managers’ Index eased to 47.8 in August compared to a 51.4 print for the headline reading in July.

The result was below the 50 level which divides contraction from expansion, marking the first time Hong Kong’s private-sector economy has deteriorated since 2009.

“Mainland [Chinese] demand for Hong Kong goods and services is still holding firm, but weakening Western demand is adversely weighing on business conditions and hiring activities,” said Mark McCombe, chief executive of HSBC in Hong Kong.

Employment conditions for the month showed the first contraction since December 2010, while output declined at a moderate pace, and new orders also showed a contraction, reversing from a slight rise in June.

The PMI marked the worst deterioration in overall operating conditions in Hong Kong for 26 months, according to HSBC.

Other HSBC analysts said the city’s export-oriented businesses were concerned about slowing economic conditions in Europe and the U.S., while Japanese orders were improving as factories system knocked out by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami were slowing getting back to normal.

But as HSBC’s McCombe indicated, mainland China remained strong.

“Although the Chinese economy is still cooling in response to Beijing’s monetary tightening measures, mainland appetite for Hong Kong goods and services has not waned,” said HSBC’s Greater China economist Donna Kwok.

The downbeat PMI result further weighed on a stock market selling down after surprising weak U.S. employment released Friday when Asian markets were closed. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index HK:HSI +0.31%  ended morning trade down 2.2%, while the mainland China-focused Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 2.3%. 

Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.