The Changing Status of Hong Kong as a Global Financial Center The Changing Status of Hong Kong as a Global Financial Center December 18, 2020 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: 4 minutes Op-Ed by Mark Preen In recent years, Hong Kong and its economy have experienced turbulence. The territory’s real GDP contracted by 1.2 percent in 2019, following the impact of anti-government protests, and the IMF projects that Hong Kong’s economy will contract by a whopping 7.5 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In response to the protests, Beijing enacted a National Security Law in June of this year. While the impact of COVID-19 is likely to be short to medium-term, the region’s sociopolitical tensions have raised concerns about the long-term economic credibility of Hong Kong, including its status as a global financial center.