Hong Kong Economy Feels the Effects as SARS Spreads

Amy Kok placed discount prices on everything in her clothing store -- not just the fashionable inventory but also the mirrors on the walls and the whirring electric fans cooling the room.

Kok turned on the fans after shutting off the expensive air conditioning, and one already had a “sold” sign on it. In just a few days, the SARS crisis in Hong Kong had ruined her business of 10 years.

“Things have never been so bad before,” Kok said, looking pale and sullen as she explained how she wanted to bring in just a few extra dollars before closing the doors permanently.

“This is a catastrophe,” agreed Christy Yu, whose lighting store, too, would soon close.

“Business has been down by 80 to 90% since the outbreak,” Yu said. “It’s the worst time I’ve ever seen.”

On Sunday, Hong Kong reported seven more deaths and 22 new cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, one day after recording a record 12 fatalities from SARS. So far the disease has sickened more than 1,300 people here and killed at least 88. Worldwide, there have been more than 3,800 SARS cases and more than 200 dead.

As Hong Kong fights to contain the spread of SARS, merchants are going broke. The collapse of so many businesses has pushed personal bankruptcies in Hong Kong to 3,119 in March, up 18% from 2,640 in February and up 74% from 1,790 the same month last year.

So far this year, almost 9,000 people have filed for bankruptcy protection, more than double the 4,041 in the first three months of 2002.

A bit of dark humor is floating through town, as some joke that the only way Hong Kong can stop the failures would be to hire somebody to stand in front of the bankruptcy registry and scare people away by coughing.

The economic data will get far worse, analysts say. The SARS crisis broke in March in an economy that was already struggling, so the latest statistics would reveal only a little of the damage, if any.

Economically, SARS has been cutting swaths through a number of industries crucial to Hong Kong: tourism, restaurants, retailing and entertainment.

Right across from one apartment complex, the Amoy Gardens -- where officials recorded more than 300 SARS cases -- most of the shops have been closed for days.

At one grocery that remained open, there were no customers.

“No one comes here. We don’t even have 10% of our original business,” said store owner Cheung Tak-shing, passing time by watching his neighbors play the clacking Chinese board game mah-jongg.

In mah-jongg parlors, karaoke lounges, cinemas and restaurants, the situation appears dire as customers stay away from confined air-conditioned areas to avoid infection.

Though it is unclear how easily SARS can be transmitted through the air, many still fear the virus could be spread by droplets in badly circulating air. Many people are staying home.

Along Temple Street, usually a tourist hot spot where performers sing Cantonese opera and fortune tellers read palms at night, there is little life to be seen.

“It’s very quiet at night these days,” said Anita Wong, who manages the well-known, 53-year-old Mi Do Cafe. “Now, people just hurry to go home after work and very few come here to have dinner.”

Waiter Lee Siu-keung lamented the days when he could serve people from around the world.

“We had customers from Japan, Germany and Malaysia, but there are simply no tourists now,” Lee said. “We are not kidding. Half of our normal business has gone and we are in really bad shape.”

The birds are still chirping in Hong Kong’s normally bustling Bird Garden market, but that’s about the only sound one can hear there these days.

“Tourists used to come here in groups, but not even one foreigner has shown up today,” said one dealer, Johnny Wong.

But a Taoist priest who gets hired to pray for an end to SARS says business has been booming.

“For funerals, only seven, nine or 11 Taoist priests are needed to give prayers,” Ha Chung-kin said. “But in praying sessions held to end the outbreak, 150 Taoist priests are needed. It’s a record.”