With crackdowns on Uber and Airbnb, does the sharing economy have a future in Hong Kong?
Drivers have been fined and home rentals face stricter laws, and while businesses and users remain hopeful, analysts say the hardline approach will continue to protect the vested interests of established competitors
Airbnb host Frank Lee was baffled last week by news that Hong Kong officials planned to get tougher on short-term home rentals.
The IT professional has been letting a 75 sq ft spare room in his flat since 2012 to help him meet half the hefty HK$17,000 (US$2,165) rental bill he faces every month.
He is one of a number of savvy Hongkongers who have embraced the so-called sharing economy, but who now face uncertainty as city officials hesitate to do the same.
In the past week, three leading yet struggling giants of the sector in Hong Kong have been in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Ride-sharing firm Uber on Tuesday saw 28 of its drivers convicted and fined for illegal carriage, and much-hyped Gobee.bike, the city’s first bike-sharing service, went bust.
Meanwhile, Airbnb learned that a government amendment bill was to be tabled to the city’s legislature introducing harsher penalties and making prosecution easier of illegal home-sharing services.
The string of setbacks has raised questions about Hong Kong’s aspirations to be a world-class “smart city”. Critics have accused the government of favouring vested interests, and protecting the shareholders of firms under threat from the sharing economy. But others say these services are illegal and unsafe, and even economically inviable.