What a 33-year-old congee chain's closure says about Hong Kong
suddenly shutting down is not surprising. The catering industry has struggled mightily since Hong Kong reopened its borders after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and
many local restaurants have bitten the dust.
Advertisement
The disrupter of the century so far, the pandemic has permanently changed so much in our lives – and not just in terms of people falling ill. We can see the effects of Covid-19 in
every closed shop and
struggling business . We can also see the impact of the measures taken to fight the pandemic in the lingering effects of prolonged isolation and limited socialisation on schoolchildren.
Pandemic measures have changed our behaviour so much that Hongkongers are now
eating out less . When the weekend arrives, people
venture out to Shenzhen or other nearby mainland cities in search of better bargains and service.
Revenge spending ' – the surge of spending that arose after months of boredom and sheltering in tiny living spaces – has turned into a habit for some. And as nostalgic as some of us are for the 'old' Hong Kong, far too many people continue to seek new experiences in new places.
Even after the intrigue and excitement of the new wears off, the easy access to the mainland and the many choices and better prices businesses there offer consumers make it difficult to win back customers and diners at home. That is why the news of so many
local restaurants shutting shop is alarming but no longer surprising.
03:39
Shop occupancy recovers in Hong Kong, but vacant stores still visible across the city
Shop occupancy recovers in Hong Kong, but vacant stores still visible across the city
Has enough been done to reverse this trend? Our government has definitely tried with some expensive campaigns, starting with '
Night Vibes Hong Kong ', in an effort to resuscitate the nightlife for which the city was once known. The pandemic choked off our nightlife and, after three years, we got accustomed to staying home.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Tech war: Chinese EDA leader Empyrean announces breakthroughs in chip design software
China's top semiconductor design software developer Empyrean Technology said it has made breakthroughs in design tools for memory chips and panel displays, as part of its long-term goal to 'fully replace foreign products' amid the ongoing US-China tech war. For memory chip design, Empyrean added a 'clone group' function to the layout editor, which helps 'quickly and accurately complete the layout design of identical units' as memory devices contain arrays of storage modules, according to a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange over the weekend. Its simulation tool for memory chips was powered by artificial intelligence, which enables accurate simulation of high-yield circuits with a 'smaller number' of tests, it said. Both innovations were launched in the first half of the year, when Empyrean also introduced an 'intelligent and automated' platform for panel display design, used to control the pixel layout on a flat screen. The new system, which uses AI algorithms to replace human work, is being rolled out to major panel manufacturers in China 'on a large scale', the company said. The progress provides fresh evidence of how China is slowly moving towards self-sufficiency in critical areas such as electronic design automation (EDA) for chip design and operating systems. Huawei Technologies is set to open-source its software toolkit used to develop applications on its Ascend AI processors as it tries to compete with Nvidia's proprietary Compute Unified Device Architecture, or CUDA, toolkit The new simulation tool for memory chips is powered by artificial intelligence. Photo: Shutterstock Images Beijing-based Empyrean also launched six other new software tools to facilitate the design of digital circuits, analogue circuits and three-dimensional integrated circuits.
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Xiaomi posts record revenue of US$16 billion in second quarter on strong electric vehicle sales
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi posted a 30.5 per cent increase in revenue for the second quarter, driven by strong demand for electric vehicles (EVs), even though its core smartphone business experienced flat sales. The Beijing-based company on Tuesday reported revenue of 116 billion yuan (US$16.1 billion) for the three months ended June, a record high that beat analysts' estimates of 114.94 billion yuan. Net profit for the period also reached a record at 10.8 billion yuan, a 75.4 per cent year-on-year increase, exceeding the 8.88 billion yuan forecast by analysts. Xiaomi's Hong Kong-listed shares closed down 1.23 per cent at HK$52.40 on Tuesday ahead of the earnings release. With smartphone sales stagnating, EVs were the primary source of growth for Xiaomi, according to Dan Baker, a senior equity analyst at investment consultancy Morningstar. Revenue from Xiaomi's smart EV, artificial intelligence and other new initiatives business segment reached 21.3 billion yuan in the second quarter.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong jobless rate rises to 3.7% as graduates, school leavers enter market
Hong Kong's unemployment rate rose to 3.7 per cent over the past three months, with authorities partly attributing the change to university graduates entering the job market, and the construction, catering, retail and property sectors taking the biggest hits. Advertisement Preliminary data released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday showed that the jobless rate for the May to July period increased by 0.2 percentage points compared with the April to June figures. This marks the highest rate recorded in 33 months, when the unemployment rate stood at 3.8 per cent from August to October 2022. Between May and July, unemployment rates rose in several key industries, including the foundation and superstructure sector, food and beverage, retail and real estate. At the same time, unemployment fell in the cleaning, building decoration and maintenance, and social work sectors. Advertisement Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the uptick in the unemployment figure was partly attributable to the influx of fresh graduates and school leavers entering the labour market.
