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Friday, August 23, 2019, 10:24
Shop association: HK retail sales plunge in August
By Bloomberg
Friday, August 23, 2019, 10:24 By Bloomberg

Shop are closed affected by public assembly for safety reason at Pacific Place shopping mall in Admiralty on June 12 2019. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

Most Hong Kong retailers have seen sales drop more than 50% in August, according to the city’s Retail Management Association, as the ongoing political protests take a toll on business and the economy.

Hong Kong’s government expects the city’s businesses to continue to suffer this year

ALSO READ: More HK companies say business impacted by protests

The association has urged landlords in the city to halve rents for six months to help tenants overcome difficult times, and has called on the government to provide relief measures to retailers, according to a press release. Retailers are facing large cash flow pressures and a few of them will cut jobs or even shut down if the situation continues to worsen, it said.

READ MORE: Retailers worry about city's future as protests rage

The release didn’t explain what period it was comparing August’s sales with.

Hong Kong’s government expects the city’s businesses to continue to suffer this year. The value of retail sales dropped 6.7% in June from a year earlier, the fifth straight month of declines, while the overall economy contracted in the three months through June from the first quarter.

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