Further Deterioration Of Business Environment In Hongkong In August

Under multiple pressures, the downturn in sales in Hongkong can not be alleviated immediately.

The Hongkong Tourism Board predicts that the total number of arrivals will drop from 12% in 2014 to 6.4% in 2015, and the growth rate of mainland tourists arriving in Hong Kong will be reduced by half to 8%. In the first quarter of this year, Hongkong's economy grew by 2.1% compared with the same period last year, which is lower than the adjusted figure for the fourth quarter of 2014 (2.4%).

Total retail sales have been declining since March. The Hongkong government announced in August 31st that retail sales in July amounted to HK $37 billion 600 million, an annual decline of 2.8%, a drop of 1.2% over the forecast. In the first 7 months of this year, the total retail sales fell by 1.8%.

According to Hongkong Ming Pao, the business environment of Hongkong further deteriorated in August, when the stock market crashed, the consumption power of visitors in Hong Kong continued to decrease, and the retail industry became cold.

The Nikkei Hongkong Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), released last week, is only 44.4, a new low of over 6 years. What is even more worrying is that the speed of layoffs is accelerating. The rate of job loss is the highest since SARS ravaged Hongkong in April 2003.

In the downturn of retail industry, luxury brands bear the brunt. Coach sent an email notice to all members of Hongkong on Friday, confirming that the flagship store in Queen's Road Central was closed on the 31 th. The flagship store lease was due to expire in October 2017, but Coach decided to withdraw from the lease two years ahead of schedule.

Xu Yushan, vice president of Greater China in Manpower Group, a human resources agency, said Hongkong's retail industry had been battered. Even Coach's flagship store had to rent out. Recruitment market It is indeed affected. In recent years, SMEs have been postponed recruitment. It is believed that under the uncertainty of the economy, the cost of human resources will be tightened. She also said that the attrition of the retail industry was ahead of other industries, and that the front-line staff in the financial, insurance and real estate sectors also had worries, but there was still demand for skilled personnel.

Xu Yushan estimates Hongkong Employment situation It is stressful, but at present, all the people are still employed. I believe that the unemployment rate in a short period of time can not suddenly rise to the level of SARS. However, if the economy continues to be uncertain, employers will not be excluded from the wait-and-see attitude.

Wall Street knowledge once mentioned that the mainland is against corruption. Hong Kong Factors such as anti water passengers and so on, greatly reduced the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong, which caused the sales volume of Hongkong's retail industry to suffer, and retailers also sought to reduce their rents. In March this year, the number of mainland tour groups dropped by 45%.

Although it is still the largest outbound destination for mainland tour groups, Hongkong is facing the danger of losing its top position. Bloomberg data show that the number of mainland visitors to Hongkong in 2014 was the slowest since 2009. In June this year, the average occupancy rate of Hong Kong Hotel has dropped for ninth consecutive months.

In addition, China has lowered import tariffs on skin care products and sports shoes since June 1st, and reduced Hongkong's attractiveness as a cheaper shopping destination. Recently, the renminbi, yen, won and other competing devaluation, but the Hong Kong dollar has always been strong, but also add to the Hongkong consumer market.