HONG KONG - The Hong Kong economy dropped 1.2 percent year-on-year in 2019, the first annual contraction over the past decade, as months-long unrest and chaos dealt a crushing blow to a wide range of industries from tourism to catering.

Hong Kong's GDP fell 2.9 percent from a year ago in the fourth quarter, worsening slightly from the 2.8-percent decline in the third quarter, according to advance estimates of the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Monday.