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Despite claims it's no longer cheaper over the border, SAR customers continue to be attracted by better value

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Shop prices in Hong Kong may be slipping towards Shenzhen levels, but SAR consumers still regard the booming special economic zone as a bargain-hunter's paradise.

A Sunday Morning Post trip to the bustling Lowu Commercial City and Dongmen last week found shoppers snapping up goods at prices 25 per cent lower than in Hong Kong.

The findings come after the Hong Kong Retail Management Association claimed drastic price-slashing had put the SAR in the same league as Shenzhen - particularly for clothing and food.

Association chairman Yu Pang-chun said members had reported a downward price trend since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Hong Kong shoppers Josiah Chow and his friend May Lam Mei-kam, both in their 30s, said that although local prices had dropped, when it came to the cost of clothing and eating out, Hong Kong could not compete with Shenzhen.

'Even in Hong Kong, when you buy brand-name items, the quality is not that good,' Miss Lam said, pointing out the sturdy zipper on her new $70 pullover, which she said would have cost twice as much in Hong Kong.

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