FROM tobacco shops to newspaper vendors, from small neighbourhood stores to large clothing chains, customers paying in US dollars can truly say, 'Don't leave home without it'.
In a straw poll of about 15 shops in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday, most merchants welcomed the greenback as readily as the Hong Kong dollar - if the exchange rate was right.
Many acted as if the peg of HK$7.8 to US$1 had already collapsed, leaving them free to choose a favourable rate.
'Yes, we take US dollars - but it's $7 to one US,' said a corner store keeper selling fruit juice on Peking Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.
This means two orange juices, normally $28, cost US$4.
A newspaper vendor beside the store sold a copy of the South China Morning Post for US$1, also pocketing an 80-cent profit.
