Calls from business sector grow for Hong Kong's Occupy protests to end
HSBC chief executive says investors are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards Hong Kong
With a highway and other roads still blocked, the five-week-old Occupy movement is harming the city's economic prospects, small and big businesses say.
He said both the investment and retail banking industries had been affected by the ongoing democracy movement. "Some investors who were originally planning to invest in Hong Kong … would now say they may wait and see first. This kind of attitude will have a severe impact on Hong Kong," Wong said.
"I am now in an embarrassing position, because I am not sure if I can stand tall and say we still have full respect for the rule of law," Wong said.
His concerns were echoed by the president of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce, Javed Iqbal, who yesterday led a 20-person contingent to police headquarters in Wan Chai to show support for the city authorities. They called for the protest to end.
"The movement can't simply continue for another month or another week … Nothing much has been achieved, besides disturbance and a bad image for Hong Kong," said Iqbal.
G.H. Sagar, president of the Jammu Kashmir Association, said that protesters should trust the chief executive and retreat. "C.Y. Leung is a very nice man," Sagar said. "He can solve your problems."
With commutes long and tangled, hopes of hosting international groups, investors and major events have been dashed. "The type of complaints we receive are basically: when will this end? Is it safe to come here?" Iqbal said.
Jawada Ashraf, who owns two apparel companies, said his business partners had refused to meet him in the city because of the protests. "Usually we have meetings here to discuss prices, check samples and place orders, but last week I had to meet a client in Pakistan." Ashraf said.
Businesses near rally sites have complained that while most regular customers have returned, sales are down.
Sam Lui, who works at Jim's Tailor Workshop in Admiralty Centre, said: "Compared to this time last year, we've probably lost 40 per cent of our business. This has gone on for too long. They're disrupting people's daily lives."
Kwok Mo-ching, owner of City Office Supplies at the same mall, said delivery men avoided the area.
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"If it's not a driver we know well, then they just won't come because even if they get here on time, the traffic means it takes them a long time to leave the area," she said.
In Mong Kok, the manager of one 7-Eleven store near the heart of the occupied zone says business hasn't changed much and improves on certain days, with more people coming in to buy drinks and snacks.
An employee at Chung Hing Duty-Free Medicine, at the junction of Nathan Road and Argyle Street, said sales had never been worse. "These students are educated and civilised," he said. "They should really stop, as people must make a living."
