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Shanghai’s economy will expand 6 per cent in 2023 amid wave of foreign investment in post-Covid era, economist predicts
- Shanghai will be the top beneficiary of a recovery when the pandemic eases in the second quarter of 2023, says economic adviser to local government
- The city’s economy shrank 13.7 per cent in the second quarter as business activity came to a standstill amid a citywide lockdown in April and May
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Daniel Renin Shanghai
Shanghai’s economy, battered by a two-month citywide lockdown earlier this year, will grow at a clip in 2023 as China’s exit from its zero-Covid policy ushers in a wave of foreign capital to the mainland’s commercial capital, according to an economic adviser to the local government.
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The city’s gross domestic product (GDP) will expand at least 6 per cent next year, beating the estimated 5 per cent growth nationwide, said Xu Mingqi, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
It would be the first time Shanghai’s GDP growth has outpaced the national economy since 2019. The services sector will be the major growth driver benefiting from the country’s decision to live with the coronavirus.
“A reopening of the Chinese economy is set to create opportunities for foreign investors,” Xu told a media briefing on Wednesday. “In the services and hi-tech sectors, an influx of foreign direct investment can be expected in the post-Covid era.”
He predicted that Shanghai, as a gateway for foreign capital to enter the mainland, will be the top beneficiary of an economic recovery when the pandemic eases in the second quarter of 2023.
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Shanghai Disneyland reopens as China eases strict zero-Covid restrictions
Shanghai Disneyland reopens as China eases strict zero-Covid restrictions
Shanghai’s economy shrank by an annual 13.7 per cent in the second quarter as business activity came to a standstill amid a citywide lockdown in April and May.
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