Pro-democracy protests push Hong Kong into first recession in 10 years

Hong Kong slid into recession for the first time since the global financial crisis in the third quarter, advance estimates showed on Thursday, weighed down by increasingly violent anti-government protests and the protracted US-China trade war.

The economy shrank 3.2 per cent in July-September from the preceding period, contracting for a second straight quarter and meeting the technical definition of a recession, according to the preliminary government data.

From a year earlier, the economy contracted 2.9 per cent. The readings were the weakest for the Asian financial hub since 2008/2009.

With no end to the protests in sight, the city's leader Carrie Lam warned on Tuesday that full-year growth could contract. Retail sales and tourism have plummeted.