The Chief Economist of Bank of East Asia (00023), Tsai Wing Hung, stated that the economies of Hong Kong and mainland China will further recover in 2024. It is expected that there will be a release of consumer retail, tourism, and other service demands. It is projected that the substantial growth of the Hong Kong economy in 2024 will reach 3.5%, slightly higher than the performance of the whole year in 2023. Additionally, he pointed out that the global economy will maintain a low growth trend in 2024, with clear differentiation in the recovery momentum of various economies. The IMF forecasts a slight slowdown in global economic growth to 2.9%. Tsai Wing Hung mentioned that driven by internal consumption and the recovery of the tourism industry, the Hong Kong economy continued to recover in the first three quarters of 2023, with an average growth of 2.8%. The full-year growth is forecasted to be 3.3%. Due to the impact of global monetary tightening and increased downward pressure on the economy, full recovery of the local economy and service industry in Hong Kong will still take time, leading to an economic growth weaker than initially expected. Looking back at 2023, despite the global economy showing more resilience than expected, uncertainties continued to persist, and global inflation peaked and then fell back in 2023. Looking ahead, he expects that major central banks in advanced economies such as Europe and the United States are likely to start orderly lowering interest rates in mid-2024. The situation in Japan is different, as he expects the Bank of Japan to gradually exit the ultra-loose monetary policy, end yield curve control, and negative interest rate policy. Tsai Wing Hung mentioned that the effects of monetary tightening policies are becoming apparent, with several consumer price indicators in the United States already showing a decline. It is expected that inflation in the United States will gradually decrease in 2024. He also indicated that the U.S. economy is likely to avoid a recession and achieve a soft landing. The growth of the U.S. economy is forecasted to decrease to around 1.3% below trend growth this year, with a low risk of a hard landing.