Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hong Kong’s businesses expect a joyless holiday season as Covid-19 rules bite

Hong Kong’s businesses expect a joyless holiday season as Covid-19 rules bite

Some operators uncertain how long they can remain viable, with catering industry predicting 80 per cent drop in revenue over usual take in December in a normal year.

Hong Kong businesses struggling to survive the fourth wave of the coronavirus are expecting to take a severe hit over the Christmas and New Year holiday season after the government extended social-distancing rules until January 6.

The catering industry is bracing for an estimated 80 per cent plunge in revenue compared to the traditional take in December during a normal year.

The businesses, from restaurants to bars and party rooms, are demanding immediate financial assistance from the government, fearing that many establishments will have no choice but shut for good.

“It will be a very, very severe hit to the food and beverage sector,” said Simon Wong Kit-lung, who runs almost 40 restaurants under the LH Group.


Restaurants have been banned from offering dine-in service after 6pm.


Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee said on Monday that all social-distancing rules would be extended until January 6. The rules included a ban on dine-in service from 6pm, a two-person limit per restaurant table, and that restaurants can only operate at 50 per cent capacity. Other businesses such as bars, party rooms and fitness centres must remain closed.

Chan warned that many Hongkongers continued to go out to shopping centres and other places last weekend, despite calls from the authorities to stay home.

Hours after the announcement, health authorities said Hong Kong recorded 85 new coronavirus infections, 27 of them local transmissions that were untraceable. The new cases pushed the city’s Covid-19 tally to 8,237, with 131 related deaths.

Wong said the extension was expected, as the pandemic still showed no signs of easing. He expected the catering sector to suffer a 70 to 80 per cent drop in revenue for December compared to two years ago, before social unrest hit economic growth.

“To be honest, the amount of business we can do right now is only marginal, especially since restaurants have to close by 6pm,” he said.

The legislature on Monday passed a package of HK$6.4 billion (US$826 million) in Covid-19 relief funding for industries suffering from social-distancing restrictions, marking the fourth round of handouts.

Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said businesses urgently needed the subsidies and urged the government to disburse the HK$3.4 billion allocated to some 17,000 catering operators as soon as possible.

Wong estimated the catering sector could suffer a HK$8 billion decline in revenue for December as the tightened restrictions covered the peak season, compared to the HK$11 billion generated the year before.

“Business is down in the doldrums and in urgent need of a lifeline.”

He stressed that Chinese-style restaurants suffered the most this month, as they could not serve traditional round-table winter solstice dinners. Some larger chains and hotels introduced takeaway poon choi, a communal vegetable and meat dish typically served during the holiday, but Wong said such gimmicks were “not very popular”.

Manuel Palacio, co-founder and CEO of Pirata Group, said the chain of restaurants has launched a small selection of festive takeout menus, and would also offer all-day brunches from 11am until 6pm for the Christmas season.

“We did expect the extension and we believe it is the right thing to do to protect us all in Hong Kong over the long term,” Palacio said.

Wing Chin Chun-wing, vice-president of the Hong Kong Bar & Club Association, estimated that the industry would lose out on HK$4.5 billion if venues have to shut in December and the rest of January.

“Closing bars in January again is highly likely because the new variant of the coronavirus is much more contagious,” Chin said, referring to a mutated coronavirus strain that was discovered in Britain.

“It’s expected the government will extend these measures into next month.”

Chin also warned that with bars shut over the peak season, youngsters might visit unlicensed venues, which would result in an even higher risk of infection.

Cat Hou Chui-shan, chairwoman of the Bartenders and Mixologists Union, said that several bar owners were counting on the latest relief funding to survive the next month and would assess whether to close down for good. Bartenders on unpaid leave or in part-time positions had also shifted to food delivery to make ends meet, Hou said.

“We’re very frustrated with the government because they’re taking way too long to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic,” she said. “They keep closing venues but there have been so many loopholes that were not the fault of the bars or catering industry.”

Brian Chui Wai-ho, co-founder of party room booking platform ReUbird, said that large party venues, those measuring between 2,000 sq ft and 3,000 sq ft, had to close down because they could no longer afford to pay rent.

“I would say the entire offline event industry and also the venue industry has been impacted by the pandemic by leaps and bounds, probably suffering a 70 to 80 per cent decline,” Chui said.

Chui added the online booking platform, which had 350 venue partners before the pandemic, stopped taking reservations for party rooms and has been focusing on coordinating orders for celebration cakes, balloons and decorations instead.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×