Hong Kong retail sales plunge in biggest drop since 2003 Sars epidemic
January retail scene is at its weakest since the 2003 fatal Sars epidemic, partly because of a late start to the traditional festival this year
A slump of 14.6 per cent in retail sales ahead of the Lunar New Year is the worst since a 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, putting businesses and concern groups at loggerheads over whether to curb the inflow of mainland visitors.
Sales in January fell to HK$46.6 billion from a year ago, the Census and Statistics Department said yesterday.
It is the first decline in any January since 2007, when sales dipped 1.6 per cent.
The Retail Management Association reacted strongly, saying the data reflected retail difficulties in the face of slowing growth in cross-border arrivals. The association would object to limiting visitor numbers, chairwoman Caroline Mak Sui-king said.
That stance will put the industry in conflict with political parties and anti-mainland protesters that advocate caps on a multiple-entry visa scheme granting permanent Shenzhen residents unlimited trips to Hong Kong.
Proposals to limit such visits will be put to Beijing by Hong Kong delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference this week.
Mak is against the idea. "Hongkongers have a certain purchasing power, but 40 per cent of retail spending comes from tourists. The government should increase Hong Kong's tourism capacity instead."