【明報文章】The Hong Kong economy has had a lost half-decade. It shrank in two of the last five years; GDP growth last year barely made up for the shocking contraction of 3.5 percent in 2022. Growth in the coming years may continue to be sluggish as the Chinese economy grapples with high levels of debt (especially in property), excess capacity and insufficient demand, deflationary pressures, and a persistent decline in asset values. It is thus hardly surprising that the Hang Seng Index – a barometer of economic health in Hong Kong and the mainland – is barely higher than what it was on 1 July 1997.