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Opinion | Let 2023 be the year in which Hong Kong’s fortunes turn around
- After a year of sporting excitement and economic turbulence, Hong Kong is emerging from Covid-19 to fresh possibilities and a long-awaited return to normality
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Just like that, another year has come and gone. 2022 has passed in the blink of an eye and it’s almost time to ring in the new year.
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And what a year it’s been! For sports fans, the Fifa World Cup was a highlight, with a projected five billion people globally watching some part of the month-long tournament. The most popular sporting event on the planet saw a host of records broken – from the most goals scored in the tournament, to Lionel Messi breaking 10 World Cup records, including being the first player to score in every round. The final and Argentina’s fairy-tale ending is being described as one of the greatest football matches of all time.
Hong Kong swimming phenomenon Siobhan Haughey made a splash, winning seven gold medals at the Fina Swimming World Cup. She also triumphed at the Fina World Championships with a gold and silver to her name.
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Economically, it has been a turbulent year. Tens of trillions of dollars were wiped off the world’s stock markets. Tech stocks were crushed, with Meta Platforms, Peloton and Tesla falling more than 60 per cent.
Inflation in both the United States and the United Kingdom rose to 40-year highs, driven mostly by surging food, gas and energy prices on the back of the Russia-Ukraine war. US interest rates rose to its highest in 15 years as the Federal Reserve targeted inflation, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority increased its base rate to 4.75 per cent, close to its 15-year high.
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