Latest news with #SimonWong
South China Morning Post
01-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
10% year-on-year sales boost expected for Hong Kong eateries on handover holiday
Hong Kong's restaurant industry is anticipating a 10 per cent boost in business on Tuesday compared to last year, with an industry leader noting that the increased number of over 3,800 eateries offering discounts to celebrate the city's handover to Beijing will spur local consumption and help ease the sector's woes. Advertisement Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, expressed optimism as the city celebrated the 28th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty on Tuesday. 'The different discount packages offered by restaurants and shopping malls will encourage more residents to consume,' Wong told the Post, noting that the number of participating restaurants had jumped from 2,000 last year to 3,800 this year. The offers, including a 29 per cent discount at Hong Kong-style cafe chain Tai Hing and its 15 sister restaurant chains, led to bustling scenes at eateries across the city. At Tai Hing's Tsuen Wan branch, there was a constant queue of over 20 people, with the number at times exceeding 30. Its Causeway Bay outlet was packed with diners early in the morning. Advertisement Other businesses such as Chinese teahouse All Forum and bakeries such as Arome also took part in the promotional campaign by offering discounts.
South China Morning Post
01-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
10% year-on-year sales boost expected for Hong Kong eateries on handover holiday
Hong Kong's restaurant industry is anticipating a 10 per cent boost in business on Tuesday compared to last year, with an industry leader noting that the increased number of over 3,800 eateries offering discounts to celebrate the city's handover to Beijing will spur local consumption and help ease the sector's woes. Advertisement Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, expressed optimism as the city celebrated the 28th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty on Tuesday. 'The different discount packages offered by restaurants and shopping malls will encourage more residents to consume,' Wong told the Post, noting that the number of participating restaurants had jumped from 2,000 last year to 3,800 this year. The offers, including a 29 per cent discount at Hong Kong-style cafe chain Tai Hing and its 15 sister restaurant chains, led to bustling scenes at eateries across the city. At Tai Hing's Tsuen Wan branch, there was a constant queue of over 20 people, with the number at times exceeding 30. Its Causeway Bay outlet was packed with diners early in the morning. Advertisement Other businesses such as Chinese teahouse All Forum and bakeries such as Arome also took part in the promotional campaign by offering discounts.
South China Morning Post
28-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Elevated rents a ‘big problem' for Hong Kong restaurants as closures mount
Hong Kong's restaurant industry is bracing for the wave of business closures to continue into the second half of the year with little hope for a quick turnaround, following a string of shutdowns of well-established chains in the city. 'We are worried about the overall situation in the second half of the year,' Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, told a radio show on Saturday. Wong cited rent as a 'rather big problem', with industry observers saying that prices remained elevated. However, some landlords had recently reduced rents, and in certain areas, prices dropped by up to 15 per cent over the past six months, he added. 'However, when calculated by cost compared with the Greater Bay Area, especially Shenzhen, our costs are still higher,' he said. 'So, in terms of labour, rent, ingredients, other administrative expenses and promotion, it is precisely the cost-effectiveness that puts immense pressure on operating a restaurant in Hong Kong.' Bakery chain Taipan Bread & Cakes, the inventor of 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed down all of its branches earlier this week after more than four decades in the business, becoming the latest in the list of major chains that have shut down in recent years.
RTHK
28-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Cut rents further to lift catering sector
Cut rents further to lift catering sector Simon Wong says visitors to Hong Kong are spending less. Photo: RTHK A catering sector representative on Saturday said rents will continue to be a challenge despite a recent reduction. Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades told a Commercial Radio programme that even though the SAR has been welcoming more tourists this year, business performance is worse than the pre-Covid period. This is because spending for each visitor has dropped by 20 percent. Noting that landlords have slashed rents by up to 15 percent on average in the past half-year – and even 30 percent in some districts – Wong expressed the hope that they would go down even further. "If there's so much empty space on the street, the landlords would feel that kind of pressure and they are willing to lower their rent at this moment. And I'm looking forward to more decrease in the rent because still the rents compared to other expenses are quite high," he told reporters. "Our operating expenses is comprised of rent, salaries and also food costs, and rental is one of the major expenses we encounter. So if the rent can go down by at least another 20 or 25 percent, it would help us a lot." Wong also noted that the phenomenon of Hongkongers heading north to spend is "irreversible", but he hopes that the government will expand multiple-entry visas to cover the entire Greater Bay Area, or even other mainland cities to help the catering sector. Meanwhile, Wong said he expects a campaign – which sees more than 3,800 restaurants offering discounts of up to 29 percent to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the SAR's establishment on July 1 –to boost business by up to 15 percent that day.
News18
12-06-2025
- General
- News18
Blaze On Singapore Ship Enters Third Day, IAF's MI-17 V5 Joins Firefighting Ops
Last Updated: With the blaze still raging, the Indian Air Force's MI-17 V5 helicopter has been deployed to drop fire retardant, joining the Coast Guard's ongoing efforts off the Kerala coast The MV Wan Hai 503 had 22 crew members on board — 8 Chinese, 6 Taiwanese, 5 Burmese, and 3 Indonesians. (X/@indiannavy) A massive fire continues to rage onboard the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503 for the third consecutive day, even as Indian authorities intensify firefighting and search operations off the Kerala coast. The Indian Coast Guard is leading efforts on the sea, while the Indian Air Force has now deployed an MI-17 V5 helicopter to conduct aerial sorties and drop fire suppressant dye to douse the flames. The incident was first reported on Monday, June 9, around 09:30 AM, when a series of explosions triggered an underdeck fire while the vessel was sailing approximately 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi. The alert was relayed by the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) in Mumbai to its Kochi counterpart. The ship was reportedly near Beypore, off Kozhikode district, when the fire broke out. The vessel, en route from Colombo to Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port, was carrying nitrocellulose, a highly flammable substance used in manufacturing explosives and industrial chemicals. The cargo, imported by a Mumbai-based company, is under investigation. The MV Wan Hai 503 had 22 crew members on board — 8 Chinese, 6 Taiwanese, 5 Burmese, and 3 Indonesians. As the fire intensified, the entire crew was forced to abandon ship. In a coordinated operation, the Indian Navy deployed INS Surat and a Dornier aircraft, rescuing 18 crew members, who were later brought to Mangaluru. Among them, two crew members are critically injured, and four have minor injuries. The rest have been accommodated in a hotel. Four crew members remain missing, and extensive search efforts are underway. #IndianNavy in a closely coordinated #SearchAndRescue operation with @IndiaCoastGuard, DG Shipping and other stakeholders, has safely rescued 18 out of 22 crew members Singaporean Flagged MV Wan Hai 503. The MV had reported internal container explosion and resultant major fire… — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) June 9, 2025 Singapore's High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong, took to X to thank Indian authorities, saying: Deep gratitude 🙏 for our Indian friends @IndiaCoastGuard @indiannavy @IN_HQSNC @IN_WNC @SpokespersonMoD swift and brave rescue operations for the 🇸🇬-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 which caught fire off #Beypore. HC Wong #IndianNavy #IndianCoastGuard 📷: @DefencePROkochi — Singapore in India (@SGinIndia) June 9, 2025 Firefighting Efforts Continue Coast Guard vessels Sachet and Samudra Prahari remain at the site, battling the fire with support from IAF's MI-17 V5, which is now conducting aerial suppression operations. The fire continues to pose safety and environmental risks, especially after 15–20 containers fell overboard due to the explosions. Authorities say a full investigation is underway into the cause of the fire, the explosions, and the hazardous cargo's intended use. The ship remains adrift and under constant watch.
