Have anti-government protests cooked Hong Kong’s financial goose?
- Half a year has passed since the turmoil began, bringing disruptions to business, a retail sales slump and a recession in the third quarter
- In the second part in a series on the road ahead for Hong Kong, we look at the city’s special role as a gateway into mainland China
Shifting jobs from a media company to a Hong Kong financial services business seemed like a good move to Lau. His wife had just had a baby and the new job offered flexible hours and better earnings. That was a year ago, but it didn’t pan out like he planned.
“New customers have halved in recent weeks – from meeting seven to eight potential customers to three or four, resulting in a 30 to 40 per cent drop in salary,” said Lau, who requested that his first name not be used.
“Some potential customers who cancelled said they have no interest in this kind of future financial planning right now,” said Lau, who is in his mid-30s and has a commission-based salary.
Lau’s problems are an example of how businesspeople in Hong Kong – one of the world’s premier financial centres and a funnel for hundreds of billions of dollars in investment in and out of China – have faced disruptions caused by the protests and rallies.
Tear gas and Molotov cocktails do nothing to help the city’s image, but at the grass-roots level the chaos in transport networks, such as the firebombing of subways and tunnel tollbooths, means businesses can’t function. Lau said many of his meetings were cancelled because people just couldn’t get around.
