Hong Kong investors say they are bullish about Trump presidency, survey shows

Hong Kong investors say they are bullish about Trump presidency, survey shows

Survey shows 70 per cent of Hongkongers believe Trump will be better for global economy than opponent Harris

People crossed the street in Central. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong investors believe Donald Trump’s election will “enhance the global economic climate,” even if his protectionist policies and tariffs increase tensions between China and the US, according to a survey.

According to the survey, published on Monday, 70 per cent of Hongkongers said they believe Trump’s presidency would be better for the global economy than Kamala Harris’s, despite the likelihood of greater US-China tensions and the potential effects on local economic growth.

The survey, led by MDRi, part of the UK legal advisory firm Mishcon de Reya Group, also found that Hong Kong investors are willing to increase their exposure to the US market on the back of “heightened optimism towards the global economy.”

At present, 58 per cent of the 500 Hong Kong-based investors surveyed said they put their funds in the local market, with the US ranking a close second at 19 per cent. After the election, 24 per cent of the respondents said they would invest more in the US.

Hong Kong’s stock market fluctuated sharply over the past week, with the Hang Seng Index dropping 6.3 per cent, after investors were disappointed by Beijing’s approval of a bond quota to resolve the hidden debt of local governments, while the prospect of higher tariffs loomed after Trump’s re-election.

Donald Trump in Florida earlier this month. Photo: Associated Press
Donald Trump in Florida earlier this month.

The sentiment in Hong Kong stands in stark contrast to the mood in Singapore, where only half of the 500 respondents polled said they believe Trump will be good for the global economy.

Singaporean investors were also more concerned about how a Trump presidency would impact China-US relations, with 53 per cent of respondents aged 45 and above saying they were “fearing negative consequences”, compared with the market’s total average of 46 per cent. In Hong Kong, only 40 per cent of the respondents said they expected relations to worsen.

But Singaporeans, like Hongkongers, say they are optimistic about the US economy. At present, 60 per cent of respondents have put their funds in the local market. Following the election, the proportion of investors with exposure to the US will increase to 22 per cent from 19 per cent.

The survey suggested that this shift in investment focus might be tied to “a decrease in confidence in the local and Asia-Pacific economies.” It added that market volatility, interest rate changes, and economic policies under Trump were the top three concerns for investors in both markets.

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