Companies in the Greater Bay Area are expecting less operating pressure in the third quarter, after being hit by the Covid-19 in the second quarter, according to an index compiled by Standard Chartered (2888) and Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The Standard Chartered GBA Business Confidence Index indicates pessimistic sentiment if it's below 50 and optimistic sentiment if it's above 50. At least 1,000 corporations from 11 cities in GBA in five major industries are surveyed every quarter. The index was 37 in the second quarter it is expected to improve to 47 in the second quarter. Kelvin Lau, senior economist, Greater China, Standard Chartered expects Hong Kong will recover slower than the mainland.

Source: The Standard July 23, 2020 10:07 UTC