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Georgina Lee

Deb Price

Good day, traders —
Catch up on the day's action below. We love hearing from you. Send your thoughts to deb.price@scmp.com .
— Georgina Lee and Deb Price in Hong Kong
 


Stocks Blog: Hang Seng racks up 2.7 per cent monthly loss in July, as tropical storm shuts down trading early

Rain pounds Hong Kong streets in Wan Chai. Photo: Tory Ho

The wind kicks up at the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim She Tsui. Tropical Cyclone Wipha is getting closer to Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse 

A Chinese investor uses a mobile phone to check stock prices at a securities brokerage house in Beijing on June 13,  2019.

Business

Markets

Trade war, protests turned into a double whammy for Hang Seng today, says wealth strategist Kenny Wen
JPMorgan says big Fed rate cut tonight is unlikely — expects it will be in 25 basis point range


The Hong Kong Observatory raised its Typhoon signal to No 8, and stock trading stopped at 1:55. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.3 per cent in the day.
 


Stocks

China markets

Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Live

Here's what we are watching this morning:

Overnight in  US markets/ What futures foretell
--The S&P 500 fell 0.26 per  cent, the Nasdaq dropped 0.24 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.09 per cent.
-- Hong Kong futures are down 0.71 per cent, and China A50 futures are down 0.72 per cent
IPO debuts: None to note
Economic statistics/Central Bank action: China PMI
Corporate events: earnings, meetings, news conferences:
Earnings: CK Infra (1038 HK), Power Assets (6 HK), Shanghai Port (600018 CH) 
Other: US officials in Shanghai to discuss trade with Chinese counterparts.
Good reads: Shops in Causeway Bay are seeing their sales hit by Hong Kong protests, says landlord Hang Lung, and rents for high-street shops are expected to tank, La Ka-sing reports. New Frontier, the New York-listed investment arm affiliated with New Frontier Group, has agreed to buy United Family Healthcare for US$1.44 billion to create one of the biggest publicly traded health care service companies in China, reports Zhang Shidong.
 


Morning guidance 

First-half net income for Han’s Laser Technology Industry Group (002008 CH) dropped 63 per cent from a year ago to 379.5 million yuan (US$55.2 million) because of the down cycle of the consumer electronic industry and the caution in capital expenditure among clients amid the China-US trade friction, the company said in a preliminary earnings statement.
That was in line with the forecast of a profit decline between 60 per cent and 65 per cent made by the company two weeks ago. Its official half-year report is due August 20.
— Zhang Shidong
 


Foreign investors’ darling Han’s Laser posts lower first-half profit

Henan Shuanghui Investment & Development (000895 CH), the nation’s biggest pork processor, will acquire an entire stake in parent Shuanghui Industrial Group in a stock-for-asset swap valued at 39.1 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion), according to a statement to the Shenzhen exchange. 
The listed company will sell 1.98 billion new shares to Rotary Vortex, the sole shareholder of Shuanghui Industrial, the statement said. After the deal that is pending the approval by China’s securities regulator, Rotary will have a 73.4 per cent stake in Shuanghui Investment, it said. The deal is aimed to streamline structure, scale up the size and improve corporate governance, according to the statement.
 
— Zhang Shidong
 


China’s biggest pork processor Shuanghui to buy out parent for US$5.7 billion

Chuying Agro-Pastoral  Group (002477 CH) may face delisting from the Shenzhen exchange after the stock traded below the par value of 1 yuan for 18 consecutive days, the pig breeding company said in an exchange statement.
The stock is unlikely to rise above the par value in the following two days, given its maximum daily movement is limited to 5 per cent and the shares closed at 0.77 yuan Tuesday. Relevant delisting rules in China stipulate that a company may get delisted if its stock stays below the par value for 20 straight days.
— Zhang Shidong
 


Pig breeder Chuying may get delisted for trading below stock’s par value

First-half net income for Guotai Junan Securities (601211 CH) increased 25 per cent from a year earlier to 5.02 billion yuan (US$729 million), the Shanghai-based brokerage said in an exchange filing.
The company attributed the earnings resilience to a rally in the stock market in the first half and increased trading values, according to the statement. Its official interim result is due August 23.
— Zhang Shidong
 


Guotai Junan’s first-half profit rises 25 per cent amid stock rally

China is doing very badly, worst year in 27 - was supposed to start buying our agricultural product now - no signs that they are doing so. That is the problem with China, they just don’t come through. Our Economy has become MUCH larger than the Chinese Economy is last 3 years....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2019


Trump fires off tweets saying China's problem is 'they just don't come through

IMAX China (1970 HK) said in an exchange filing this morning that its net profit for the first half of the year went up 40.4 per cent to US$23.97 million.
Total revenue was up 15 per cent to US$59.27 million, while gross box office numbers were up 24 per cent at US$235.96 million.
The exclusive licensee of ultra-wide screen IMAX film technology in Greater China said revenue from theater system installations was up 20 per cent.
It declared an interim dividend of US$0.02 per share (HK$0.156 per share).
It said it expects to install about 90 to 95 new theaters this year, and that sales and administrative expenses, excluding share-based compensation, will remain roughly flat.
IMAX China shares closed down 0.33 per cent on Tuesday, at HK$18.14.
IMAX runs digital film technologies in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau and is a subsidiary of IMAX in the US.

— Georgina Lee 


IMAX China says its 1H net profit is up 40.4 per cent  

When a commission chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed a document last week to give Shenzhen special status to carry out bolder reforms as a model for other cities, the move attracted little attention outside mainland China.
The guidelines were endorsed by the Central Committee for Deepening Overall Reform – the top body overseeing economic and administrative reforms – and designed to promote Shenzhen as a “pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics”.
A report by state news agency Xinhua about the meeting gave only a broad description, saying the special status was given to Shenzhen to further boost its “innovation-focused development strategy” so that the city could achieve high-quality growth and become a model for other mainland cities.
While there were few details about the plan, analysts said the document did signal Shenzhen’s rising status in the Greater Bay Area and pointed to a policy shift in Beijing away from Hong Kong and towards mainland cities to drive the region’s development.
Read full story by Josephine Ma, Catherine Wong, and Echo Xie here. 


China looks to Shenzhen – not Hong Kong – to reinvent the future

China’s manufacturing industry remained weak in July, with factory owners still downbeat about their prospects, as the pressures of the trade war with the United States continued to mount.
The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose slightly to 49.7 from 49.4 in both May and June, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. The July result was above the median forecast of 49.6 in a poll of economists by Bloomberg.
However, it remained in contractionary territory, the fifth month of seven this year that the official PMI has been negative.
The PMI is a gauge of sentiment among factory operators, with 50.0 being the demarcation line between expansion and contraction in manufacturing activity. The figures for both May and June were the lowest since February’s 49.2, after signs of expansion in March and April.
Read full story by Finbarr Bermingham and John Carter here. 


Trade war tariffs continue to gnaw away at China’s manufacturing outlook

Six people were injured when fireworks were set off at hundreds of people who had gathered outside a Hong Kong police station on Wednesday to protest against rioting charges.
The drive-by attack from an unidentified vehicle was launched amid the return of violence to the city's streets after protesters besieged the Kwai Chung and Tin Shui Wai police stations on Tuesday night to vent their anger at the decision to charge 44 people for rioting, for the first time in two months of civil unrest.
The unrest has unsettled the city's stock market and raised concerns in the business community about weakened retail sales, retail rents and property sales.


Read full story by SCMP reporters here.
 


Overnight, Hong Kong protesters injured in drive-by fireworks attack

The Hang Seng Index opened 0.9 per cent lower, at 27,887.73, dragged down partly by heavyweights Tencent (700 HK) and AIA (1299 HK).
Internet giant Tencent was down 2.4 per cent at HK$364.2. AIA (1299 HK) lost 2.5 per cent to HK$80.5.
Hengan International (1044 HK) was down 2.9 per cent to HK$57.85, and Geely Auto (175 HK) fell 2.7 per cent to HK$12.04. They were the two biggest decliners at market open.
The CSI 300, which tracks blue chips listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai, was down 0.4 per cent to 3,854.9, while the Shanghai Composite Index was down also at 0.4 per cent to 2,940.77.
At market open, the national bureau of statistics released the official purchasing managers’ index, which showed that composite PMI, a combined reading of both manufacturing and non-manufacturing, was 53.1, up from 53.0 in June. A reading of above 50 indicates the overall economy is expanding, while a reading below reflects a contraction.
Leading Shanghai benchmark lower were Ping An Insurance (601318 CH), which declined 0.6 per cent at 89.47 yuan, while liquor king Kweichow Moutai (600519 CH) edged down 0.3 per cent to 975.5 yuan.
The Shenzhen Component Index was down 0.4 per cent at 9,363.22.
— Georgina Lee 


Falling Tencent and AIA drag down Hang Seng 

Two of Hong Kong’s largest property developers will compete head to head next month for buyers, in what will be an important test of the health of the world’s most expensive real estate market.
CK Asset Holdings (1113 HK), founded by the city’s wealthiest man Li Ka-shing, will start selling the 876-unit Seaside Sonata residential project in Sham Shui Po, its first sale in 2019 and a third of the 2,400 apartments on its contract book. Sun Hung Kai Properties (16 HK) will launch the third phase of its 1,172-unit Cullinan West on top of the Nam Cheong subway station in the same neighbourhood.
The upcoming sale by the two bellwether companies – with US$76 billion in combined market value, or a third of Hong Kong’s 16 listed property developers – comes at a critical juncture as the city’s real estate bull market had been hobbled by two months of unprecedented public unrest and a protracted US-China trade war. For CK Asset, the sales launch after a six-month hiatus is also the chance for it to regain the industry crown from SHKP.
“The pricing of the two developers will serve as an important indicator for the market and send an important signal on how the the escalating protests have impacted home prices,” said Alvin Cheung, an associate director at Prudential Brokerage.
Read full story here by Sandy Li.


CK Asset, Sun Hung Kai compete for buyers in Sham Shui Po

JPMorgan Asset Management global market strategist Hannah Anderson expects a large rate cut is unlikely overnight by the US Federal Reserve.
“The Fed is likely to keep any policy change in the 25 basis points range, the Fed is looking to forestall a future slowdown in the economy ... but emphasize that this is not the start of a new round of unlimited support to markets in their commentary,” she wrote in a note.
New and revised GDP estimates for the second quarter this year and the last five years show clear evidence that the U.S. economy is losing steam, she said.
The combination of persistently weak inflation, softening demand, and trade-driven business uncertainty, with elevated valuations in both stocks and bonds, has left Fed policymakers trying to thread a very small needle – which is to provide sufficient support to the economy to juice growth and inflation without sparking investor exuberance, she said.
— Georgina Lee 


JPMorgan says big Fed rate cut unlikely  — expects it will be in 25 basis point range

Huaneng Power International (902 HK), the listed flagship of China's largest power generator China Huaneng Group, bucked the market slump and rose 2 per cent after posting a better-than-expected 98.8 per cent year-on-year jump in net profit for the year's first six months to 3.44 billion yuan.
Daiwa Capital Markets' analysts said in a note that the net profit gain was higher than their expectation and represented 59 per cent of the full-year earnings estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg.
Revenue grew 1.5 per cent to 83.6 billion yuan as a 6 per cent drop in domestic power sold was more than offset by a 0.2 per cent rise in average tariff and a 65 per cent jump in overseas revenue driven by plants in Singapore and Pakistan.  Weak domestic sales were due to slower economic growth and excess industry generation capacity that led to lower plant utilisation. No interim dividend was declared, as was true last year.
Huaneng shares are trading at HK$4.60.
— Eric Ng


Huaneng Power International jumps on better-than-expected 1H net profit

Trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange may be halted due to Tropical Storm Wipha, which is getting closer to the city.
The Hong Kong Observatory said it will decide whether to raise its typhoon signal to No 8 between noon and 2. 
The market closes between noon and 1 for a lunch break. If it is hoisted during that period, trading will be stopped for the rest of the day. If the Observatory hoists the signal after the break, the market will be closed 15 minutes later and be closed for the rest of the day.
Tropical Storm Wipha is expected to bring heavy showers and squalls to the city in the coming hours.
— Enoch Yiu
 


Hong Kong trading may be halted due to Tropical Storm Wipha

Property stocks fell after China’s top decision-making body reiterated its stance that the property market should not be used as a form of short-term stimulus despite the economic slowdown.
A gauge tracking 134 property stocks listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai declined 1.2 per cent. 
“We should adhere to the principle that housing is used for living, not for speculation, implement the long-term mechanism for real estate, and will not use real estate as a short-term means of stimulating the economy,” the Politburo said, according to a Reuters report citing the official Xinhua news agency.
The government wants to rein in the speculative bubble in the country’s real estate sector. It has repeatedly said this year that properties should be for people to live in, not for investments.
China economic development is confronting new risks and challenges, partly because the protracted US-China trade war is weighing on its economy. Gross domestic product grew by a record low of 6.2 per cent in the second quarter this year. That was its weakest in at least 27 years.
Shanghai Shibei Hi-Tech  (600604 CH) plunged 8 per cent to 9.77 yuan, while China Calxon Group (000918 CH) declined 5.74 per cent to 7.06 yuan, China Vanke (000002 CH) dropped 3.8 per cent to 28.7 yuan, and China Fortune Land Development (600340 CH) fell 5.11 per cent to 29.15 yuan.
— Georgina Lee 


Property stocks in China tumble after Politburo meeting reaffirms stance that property is 'not for economy stimulation'

Morgan Stanley says this probably isn't the time to sell China property stocks, despite the Politburo reiterating its position that the property market shouldn't be used for short-term economic stimulation.
In a short client client commentary, Morgan Stanley said that the industry has become more “alpha driven” — industry leaders are delivering stronger performances, which is evident in better balance sheets, high dividends and return on equity. It said that the third quarter will be the key catalyst for the stock performance.
Morgan Stanley analyst Elly Chen said strong interim results for the sector with 20 per cent core earnings growth are expected, noting that Sunac China, China Resources Land, Longfor Group and Shimao Property Holdings will likely report strong results.
Sunac China (1918 HK) dropped 2.7 per cent to HK$36.15, China Resources Land (1109 HK) declined 2.2 per cent to HK$33.6, and Shimao Property Holdings (813 HK) was down 1.6 per cent at HK$21.9. Longfor Group (960 HK) was the only one bucking the downward trend: it rose 0.8 per cent to HK$29.85.
The client note said that Sunac China and China Resources Land "will be our top pick if any weakness today, it’s good buying opportunity."
 


Morgan Stanley spotlights Sunac China and China Resources Land as top picks in China property sector

Hong Kong is due to release economic data for the second quarter at 4:30 pm today.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg are expecting GDP to have slowed from the first quarter by 0.9 per cent, picking up 1.5 per cent from a year ago.
Figures may indicate retail sales dropped year-on-year for a fifth month in June, with Hong Kong's street protests and the subsequent police crackdown deterring shopping and tourism, especially involving visitors from mainland China.
— Eugene Tang 


Hong Kong GDP expected to have slowed in Q2; announcement coming at 4:30 

FIH Mobile  (2038 HK), the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary controlled by Apple supplier Foxconn, rose 5.8 per cent to HK$1.09 after brokerage Daiwa Securities upgraded it to “outperform” from “hold.”
If it holds, the price would be its highest since May 22, when it closed at HK$1.
Daiwai raised the company's target price to HK$1.18 from HK$1.06, saying its first half preliminary results will likely show a significant net loss reduction.
Daiwa expects FIH Mobile will return to profitability in 2020-21.
On July 18,  FIH Mobile said in a profit warning filed to the Hong Kong bourse that it expects a net loss of up to US$85 million, from a net loss of US$348.6 million a year ago, and a 4 per cent year-on-year drop of turnover to US$6.3 billion, due in part to pressure on its gross margins.
— Georgina Lee 


FIH Mobile rises to 10-week high after Daiwa upgrades rating to 'outperform'

China’s manufacturing sector will continue to fall until progress over the trade war is made, Iris Pang, greater China economist for ING Bank, wrote in a note.
But domestic demand will help improve the sector gradually.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was 49.7 for July, according to official data released today. This was the third straight month of contraction – albeit at a slower rate than June's 49.4 reading – staying below the 50 mark that divides contraction and expansion.
Pang predicted export-related orders including those for technology like semiconductors, which have been falling due to the trade war, to continue to be poor.
Infrastructure-related orders, however, will rise after funding is diverted to infrastructure projects, she said, citing the rising raw material price index, which moved from 49 in June to 50.7 in July.
Meanwhile, “as long as China cannot import technological components (due to Chinese companies’ inclusion in US’ entity list), it has to invest to develop its own, which will also create domestic orders for electronic parts and goods,” Pang wrote.
— Louise Moon 


China manufacturing to continue to slide until trade war progress is seen, says ING

US technology giant Apple saw an improvement in its China business in the past quarter even though global iPhone sales fell to less than 50 per cent of total revenue for the first time in seven years.
The Cupertino, California-based company on Tuesday reported revenue of US$53.8 billion for the April-June period, up 1 per cent from the same period a year ago and beating Wall Street estimates. CEO Tim Cook shrugged off news that iPhone sales fell to 48.3 per cent of overall revenue, saying it reflected successful diversification away from one product.
In Greater China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Apple said it had US$9.61 billion in sales during the three months, down 4 per cent year-on year but a much narrower decline than the 22 per cent drop off in the previous quarter, signalling that the impact from US-China tech tensions is not worsening.
Cook said non-iPhone revenue grew 17 per cent in China and that Apple grew in every category outside the iPhone in the country. Globally, iPhone sales fell 12 per cent to US$25.99 billion, after dropping 17 per cent in the previous quarter, matching Wall Street forecasts.
“The combined effects of government stimulus, the consumer response to trade and program financing offers, and other sales initiatives and growing engagement with the broader Apple ecosystem had a positive effect,” Cook said during a conference call with analysts. “We were especially pleased with the double-digit increase in services driven by strong growth from the App Store in China,” he said.
Read full story by Li  Tao and Meng Jing here.


Apple’s sales performance in China recovers 

The trade war and Hong Kong protests are behind today's losses on the Hang Seng, says Kenny Wen, wealth management strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai. 
Abrasive tweets by President Donald Trump about China and its trade negotiating unsettled US markets overnight and spilled over here, said Wen. US and China negotiators are meeting today for the final of two days of trade talks in Shanghai.
About the ongoing protests that have rocked the city, Wen said, "It hurts investment sentiment. People are getting more worried about Hong Kong's economy."
The Hang Seng Index is down 1 per cent to 27,841.07. He said the next support level will be 27,500.
Good sectors for investors to look at are consumer and property (at least for short term). On property, investors "can wait and watch first. And bottom fish later when outlook becomes clear."
He is negative on IT and manufacturing stocks for now. Everbright Sun Hung Kai is underweight on manufacturing, due to the slowing of global trade and economic growth in addition to the ongoing trade tensions between the world's leading economies.

— Deb Price 


Trade war, protests weighing down Hang Seng, says wealth strategist Kenny Wen

Well, the day may have been cut short due to the tropical storm, but that didn't stop the Hang Seng Index from racking up 1.3 per cent in losses. The index closed at 27,777.75 points.
Investor sentiment was weighed down by weariness over trade talks ending today in Shanghai and also the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.
The market was closed at 1:55 pm after the Hong Kong Observatory hoisted a Typhoon signal No. 8.
Though it was a short day, market turnover of the main board totalled HK$60.3 billion, almost reaching the same full day level on Tuesday, which was HK$61.7 billion.
The Hang Seng fell below the 28,000 level for the first time since June 18.
Its decline for the month was 2.68 per cent. It was its second monthly decline this year. It fell 9.42 per cent in May.
Big weights on the index included AIA (1299 HK), which fell 2 per cent to HK$80.9, and Tencent (700 HK), which declined 1.3 per cent to HK$368.20.
The declines were almost across the board, but one of the biggest percentage losers was WH Group (288 HK), the world’s largest pork producer. It fell 3.6 per cent to HK$7.71.
China's pig market, the largest in the world, has been roiled by African swine fever. Rabo Bank said in a recent report that the pig herd in China is down 40 per cent from a year ago — higher than the official estimates of 15 per cent to 26 per cent — and that it could take five years for production levels to return to what they were before the outbreak of the disease last August.
 Hang Lung Properties (101 HK) also ended up dropping 0.6 per cent, at HK$18.52. The developer reported Wednesday that rental revenue was up 2 per cent for the first half this year. But its bottom line was down 25 per cent to HK$3.52 billion, in part due to not having recognized any property sales during the period.

 
— Georgina Lee 


Hang Seng posts its second monthly fall of the year, dropping 2.68 per cent in July 

Several Star board stocks bucked the downward trend in China markets, posting gains.
Of the top 10 most traded stocks on both the Shanghai Composite Index and the new Star Market, the sole three that ended the day with gains were Star stocks.
China Railway Signal & Communication (688009 CH) rose 0.88 per cent to 10.31 yuan, Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (688012 CH) advanced 6.1 per cent to 88.88 yuan, while Montage Technology Group (688008 CH) rose 2.6 per cent to 77.02 yuan.
Twenty-five stocks are on the tech board that has been called China's answer to the Nasdaq. They debuted without limits on their gains last week. But this week, curbs of a maximum up or down move of 20 per cent kicked in.
Only one of the stocks — Beijing Worldia Diamond (688028 CH) — has hit that limit. Today, it was up 6.8 per cent, at 97.99 yuan.
— Georgina Lee 
 


3 heavily traded Star tech board stocks post gains 

Shanghai posted its second-worst month of losses in July, when it fell 1.6 per cent.
At least it wasn't as bad as May, when it fell 5.8 per cent as the US-China trade war escalated.
The Shanghai Composite Index for the day lost 0.7 per cent, closing at 2,932.17.
The National Statistics Bureau released the official  purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for July, which rose slightly to 49.7 from 49.4 in both May and June, and better than forecast.
Still, “the market generally would not see the improvement of just 3 percentage point as  significant, so long as the PMI remained at below 50, it still indicates that manufacturing output was still contracting,” said Louis Wong Wai-kit, a director at Philip Capital.
Two days of trade talks ended today. But US trade representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin did not comment on the progress of the talks during a media photo session with Vice-Premier Liu He.
Concerns about China’s broader economic slowdown continued to weigh on the stock markets.
“The market is lacking direction over the short term," Wong said. "I expect the Shanghai Composite Index to continue to trade in narrow range around the 2,900 level,” Wong said.
Financial stocks weighed on the Shanghai benchmark. Ping An Insurance (601318 CH) declined 2.1 per to 88.09 yuan; China Life Insurance (601628 CH) fell 2.21 per cent to 29.69 yuan, and the Industrial Bank (601166 CH) dropped 1.9 per cent at 19.13 yuan.
The CSI 300, which tracks blue chips in Shanghai and Shenzhen, was down 0.9 per cent at 3,834,34.
In Shenzhen, developer China Vanke (000002 CH) lost 3.6 per cent to 28.76 yuan.
The property sector had a bad day, with Shanghai Shibei Hi-Tech (600604 CH) down 10 per cent, at 9.56 yuan, and China Fortune Land Development (600340 CH) down 5 per cent at 29.2 yuan.
The drops happened after Politburo, China’s top decision making body, reiterated its stance on Tuesday on not using the property market as a form of short-term stimulus despite the slowdown of economy.
— Georgina Lee


Shanghai Composite Index ends with second-worst monthly fall of year, down 1.6 per cent in July

Hong Kong's second quarter GDP shrank 0.3 per cent from the first quarter, worse than the expected 0.9 per cent growth.
Compared with last year, the economy grew 0.6 per cent in the three months ended June, the same as the growth rate seen in the first quarter, but worse than the 1.5 per cent growth forecast.
The data, released by the Census and Statistics Department, was based on advanced estimates.
A government spokesman said the city’s total exports of goods showed a larger decline during the second quarter amid the US-China trade and tech tensions, declining 5.4 per cent year-on-year, compared to a smaller decline of 3.7 per cent seen in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, as local economic sentiment deteriorated in light of growing downside risks facing the global economy, private consumption expenditure grew modestly, by 1.2 per cent from a year ago, although faster than the 0.4 per cent growth seen in the first quarter.
— Georgina Lee 
