“The market has essentially discounted a 1% drag in the full-year GDP for this year,” says Chiu. The central government, however, has openly said that they are not going to keep economic growth on the sidelines because of the Covid-19 lockdown, says Chiu in a May 12 outlook call.
The pandemic has certainly taken its toll on China, says Winnie Chiu, equities advisor at Indosuez Wealth Management’s markets, investments and structuring division.
Economic activities were severely disrupted. For one, China’s April manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) fell to 47.4 from 49.5 in March, although there was a slight uptick to 49.6 in May.
