Fresh virus wave worsens Hong Kong's already disastrous outlook

Having briefly shown signs of recovery in recent months from its deepest recession on record, the Asian financial hub is bracing for its stiffest test yet as a resurgent virus combines with an increasingly uncertain political and financial outlook.

"There is no light at the end of the tunnel; we have written off any possible chance of profits for the rest of the year," said Mr Douglas Young, co-founder and chief executive of lifestyle and fashion retail chain Goods of Desire. Economists forecast an 8.7 per cent contraction from year-ago levels, almost equalling the record 8.9 per cent decline posted in the first quarter.The government has extended civil servants' work-from-home plan for another week, to Aug 2, according to a statement on its website.

Those shoppers disappeared amid months of street protests and then border lockdowns triggered by the coronavirus. "If the third wave of virus infections prolongs, I would expect a much greater wave of business closures in the coming months."Mr Syed Asim Hussain, co-founder of hospitality group Black Sheep Restaurants, which operates 25 restaurants in Hong Kong and employs about 1,000 people, said about 80 per cent of sales have been erased by the latest virus restrictions that include a ban on dining in after 6 pm.

Source: Financial Digest (financialdigest.net)

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