Hong Kong gym owners drown in paperwork waiting on delayed second round of Covid-19 relief funding
- A second round of Covid-19 relief, half of the first, was promised to the fitness industry in September
- Now closing in on six months, many gym owners say they are in a frustratingly endless back and forth with government officials
Fitness centre operator Brian Siew says the government’s inaction on a second round of relief subsidy for the fitness industry is essentially draining the city of talent by the day.
Siew, who runs BusyBody Fitness Centre which opened in Shek Mun in late 2019, is one of hundreds of small business owners still waiting on a second round of funding (HK$50,000) first promised in September.
“Many talented people are deciding to leave [Hong Kong], if not the industry as no signal has come from the government,” said Siew. “With no light in sight, many have given up. This is a lost to the Hong Kong fitness industry and Hong Kong in general. If we were able to get the subsidies in a timely manner and a clearer picture of strategy from the government, we would have planned and the talents would be able to look at solutions to their financial woes.”
Hong Kong’s gyms, fitness centres and the city’s overall sport and recreation scene are paying a heavy price in the fight against the coronavirus. Most venues have been closed for nearly 150 days since the start of the pandemic and the only financial relief offered was HK$100,000 last summer, which many small boutique gyms and fitness centres said they weren’t eligible for in the first place.
Now, as the city endures a fourth wave, gym owners find themselves shut down again and unable to make money once again. Many find themselves on the verge of bankruptcy or permanent closure, while dozens have already closed for good.
Endless paperwork requirements and back and forth email correspondence with the Home Affairs Bureau (which sport and recreation falls under, classified as “entertainment”) have some gym owners incredibly frustrated. Many who did get the first round of relief in the summer received it within four weeks. A Home Affairs Bureau’s Recreation and Sport spokesperson replied via email to a request for clarification on the funding delay, stating:
“The application process of the Fitness Centre Subsidy Scheme under the third round of Anti-epidemic Fund is similar to that of the last round of application. Upon receipt of completed application forms and all the required supporting documents, the disbursement will be made to the applicants within 30 days.”
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One gym owner, who asked to remain anonymous, said her initial application was rejected and sent back because she didn’t include her signed stamp duty. She said she sent her second application in, highlighting the stamp duty in yellow, changing nothing, and was then told everything was OK. She said her application now encompasses 238 pages of documents and counting.
Hong Kong’s economy had its worst year on record in 2020, even more than when the city went through the Asian financial crisis in 1998. Certain industries have found themselves especially hard hit by the virus restrictions, including food & beverage, salons, entertainment venues and sports and recreation.
Russ Fernandez, who opened Russ Dance Factory in Causeway Bay in 2014, said some of the paperwork requirements are absurd. He said the government is asking for colour photos of the gym, which clearly show the centre’s name, the entrance, the floor environment, the facilities, all in a panorama format. He has even been asked for photos of the water taps.
Fernandez added the most confusing thing is none of this was requested during the first round of funding, and most gyms haven’t changed a thing since then, given they have been closed for most of the time.
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“In the end, I had to personally go to apply as I didn’t want everything to be lost in translation,” said Fernandez. “We are in a digital era, it’s obnoxious that I have to go to an office, queue up, and apply for something during a pandemic.”
Rodrigo Caporal, who started martial arts gym Espada Studio in 2016, said they have been back and forth with the government three times now supplying additional documentation. Caporal said none of it makes sense.
“Each request for documentation was essentially asking for the exact same documents and the same explanation. Our registered entity name is different from our operating name, so this appears to be the biggest hurdle, even though we’ve submitted our business registrations and letters explaining clearly why our registered entity was different from our operating entity.”
Caporal said they have been given no updates if, or even when, they might get the cash injection.
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“Follow-up calls and emails are only met with the standard replies, which is that they are busy processing the massive amounts of paperwork and that they cannot give us a status update as our application is in the HAB’s hands.”
The second round of relief funding promised by the government was announced in September and amounted to HK$24 billion (US$3.1 billion). The first round from the Anti-epidemic Fund totalled HK$30 billion.
Jill Marshall, who opened Pause Health & Wellness Studio in 2012, said her mental health, along with her finances, have taken a beating over the past year. She said even if she does get the second round of relief, she is not sure her business will survive once it is allowed to operate again.
“Then what happens if no one comes back when we reopen? When we reopened last time it took time for people to readjust their new schedules to fit us in again and some may have found new teachers in the neighbourhood, or got addicted to a free YouTube trainer or simply can no longer afford our classes with their own purse-string tightening.”
Erika Law Hong-ting, who opened her studio in 2017 in Tsim Sha Tsui, said she has been going back and forth with government officials via email for months. She said issues with rental agreements have tied up her application and drawn out the process.
“I really hope we get the 50K. If we can’t work, we can’t make a living,” she said.
Ryan Charem, who started Precision Fitness in 2012, said bad news might be as welcome as no news. “I’m getting a strong sense that gym owners are grasping for oxygen, desperate for answers, even if that means hearing no.”
