Slashing visits by Shenzhen residents ‘won’t end’ parallel trading problem
Decision to cut trips to Hong Kong by Shenzhen residents to one a week will have little effect on traders and could hurt business, retailers fear
Shenzhen authorities this morning formally announced a limit on cross-border trips by the city's residents in a bid to crack down on the number of parallel traders visiting Hong Kong.
Xinhua announced the one-visit-per-week permit would be issued from today, although, as expected, multiple visit visas already issued remain valid.
Retailers and residents in districts frequented by Shenzhen visitors are bracing for an expected cutback in cross-border traffic, although some believe the move will only have a limited impact on parallel-goods trading.
The current multiple-entry scheme was introduced in April 2009, drawing 1.4 million visitors from April to December that year. It rose to 4.1 million in 2010, and climbed to 14.9 million last year. The new policy could slash the number of these visitors by as much as 30 per cent, or 4.6 million, per year.
But few people contacted yesterday said they expected any new limit to eliminate the problems of parallel-goods trading as there was high demand for daily staples such as milk powder, which can be resold for profit across the border.
"Instead of hiring one person to conduct the trade three times a day, they will probably hire three people to do it once a day," said student Dicky Chung, a North District resident.