BUSINESS Bloomberg Businessweek January 27, 202017JUSTIN CHIN/BLOOMBERG; DATA: HONG KONG CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL
housing in eastern Hong Kong with her son, who
stocks kitchen shelves for a fast-food restaurant. He
gets paid by the day, but since July his hours have
been cut and his pay reduced 25%-40%. “My son
works less, so there’s less income to spend, too,” she
says, surveying their tiny living room with bunk beds
on the side and worn-through linoleum flooring.
She’s given up buying pork, a meat staple of
almost every Hong Kong household that’s become
expensive due to shortages caused by African swine
fever in China; she’s taken to eating vegetables and
discounted bread. Four sausage rolls from the local
bakery are HK$15 after 4 p.m., and four plain buns
are HK$12. Four times a month she stands in line at
the Ho Wan Roast Meat Restaurant to redeem free
meal coupons she gets from a charity. She makes
each box of rice and roast pork last two meals.
Ho Wan restaurant used to distribute 100 boxes
to the elderly three evenings a week, but it cut back
to two nights starting in January. Owner Yu Zai says
that’s because donations for the program have
dropped. “I’ve had sponsors tell me that they can’t
donate anymore because of the bad economy,” he
says. “I understand.”
Hong Kong already has the biggest inequality gap
in the developed world, as measured by the Gini
coefficient, and one of the lowest average hourly
wages, the equivalent of $4.82, compared with devel-
oped countries in the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development. Government figures
released in December show poverty at the highest
level since records started being kept a decade ago.
One in five people now lives below the poverty line,
which is set at $6,700 a year, an almost absurdly low
level in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
“The working classes all feel the pain now,” says
Paul Yip Siu-fai, a professor and an associate dean at
the University of Hong Kong. While many, particu-
larly the young, have been strong supporters of the
push for democratic freedoms, months of violent
protests and the direct impact on their livelihoods
have led to feelings of ambivalence, hopelessness,
and helplessness, he says. “The unfavorable eco-
nomic situation and social disharmony have caused
much strain and anxiety in the whole community.”
Hong Kong’s wealthy have been largely insulated
from the downturn. Property prices in the world’s
most expensive residential market have remained
resilient. And the stock market’s Hang Seng Index,
after tanking in the months after the protests began,
is about 5% higher than when they started. Yet
more and more, foreigners employed in finance
and related industries are choosing to leave Hong
Kong. The latest immigration data show a decrease
of only about 5,000 people; yet anecdotally, manyTHEBOTTOMLINE Officialdatashowjoblessnessin Hong
Kong’s retail industry and food and beverage sector at almost
double the 3.3% overall figure.WhentouristscometoHongKongtoshop,they
headfora six-blockstretchofNathanRoadinthe
MongKokneighborhood.Theretheycanfind
morethan 30 high-endjewelrystores,includ-
ing 10 outpostsofChowTaiFook,theworld’s
second-biggestjewelerafterTiffany& Co.That’s
notcountingalmosta dozenstandalonewatch
stores,whichincludeRolex,Tissot,andLongines.
AndgloballuxuryretailerssuchasChaneland
LouisVuittonoperateboutiquesfartherupthe
merchant-linedthoroughfare.
NathanRoadis muchquieterthanusualthese
days.Theanti-Beijingprotestshavescaredoff
touristsfromaround theworld—particularly
Chinesemainlanders,who’reespeciallyimportant
toHongKong’sretailers.Comparedwithtourists
fromotherplaces,Chinesespendmoremoneyexpatriates are moving to Singapore, Shanghai, or
back to their home countries.
A twentysomething protester who gives her
name as Elena says Hong Kongers must be willing to
make economic sacrifices to win more political free-
doms. She gave up a post as a research assistant and
fled the city, fearing she was wanted by the police for
demonstrating. “I know it’s hard to give up things we
used to have, including jobs,” she says from a remote
location she doesn’t want to reveal. “But this is the
last chance for Hong Kong people to fight.”
Ho, the sampan captain, says she doesn’t care
about politics. She just hopes to hang in for four
years, until her license is up for renewal, and retire
at age 80—as long as her savings can ride her through
the current downturn. “I don’t know anything about
the political situation, and I don’t have the knowl-
edge to learn about it,” she says. “I just hope it will
end soon so the tourists will come back and business
will return.” —Sheridan Prasso, with Natalie Lung○ Once the go-to destination for mainland shoppers, the city has
seen its allure dimmed by the protestsU.S.SingaporeJapanSouth KoreaHong Kong14%28313740 Share of total tourist
spending in 2018 that
went to retail purchases
by destination