Hong Kong’s public pension fund is on track for a paper loss of about HK$43.4 billion ($5.6 billion) this month after the escalating trade war hammered global stocks.
An estimated 3.2% decline in April puts the Mandatory Provident Fund on course for its worst performance for the first four months since 2022, according to research firm MPF Ratings.
Hong Kong and Chinese equities are the worst-performing asset class for the fund this month, with a 7.1% decline.
Hong Kong’s benchmark stock index has dropped more than 5% this month while the S&P 500 has slid more than 2%, after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a range of sweeping tariffs on April 2, upending global trade and raising concerns about a recession.
“He thought it was a good idea, markets did not,” MPF Ratings Chairman Francis Chung said in a statement April 25.
Introduced in 2000 to prepare for a rapidly aging population, the MPF mandates participation for most employees in the city. The fund has about 4.8 million contributing members and HK$1.3 trillion in assets.
