Hong Kong's July retail sales sank by the most since February 2016 amid ant...
HONG KONG - Hong Kong’s July retail sales sank by the most since February 2016 amid anti-government protests that have gripped the Chinese-ruled city for months.
Unrest in Hong Kong escalated in mid-June over a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial in Communist Party-controlled courts. For the first seven months of 2019, retail sales fell 3.8% in value from a year earlier and 4.4% in volume terms. Banks are issuing unprecedented profit warnings, while hotels and restaurants are half empty. Several global events have been postponed and economists say retail sales, a key economic pillar in the Asian financial hub, could drop by 20%-30% this year.
The city’s Federation of Trade Unions said hotel occupancy rates fell 20% in June from a year earlier, and probably 40% in July. July tourist arrivals fell 4.8% on year to 5.197 million, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the first decline since January 2018 and the biggest percentage drop since August 2016.
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