Businesses in Hong Kong have been battered by internal and external turmoil in recent months impacting not only the business but also its employees. Members’ response to our annual Business Prospects Survey reflect this and make for very gloomy reading indeed.

Restoring normality and healing divisions are critical for the city’s recovery process. The results of the district elections demonstrate that people want a genuine dialogue to work out solutions for Hong Kong’s current challenges. We hope this process will begin as soon as possible.

Almost half of respondents to our survey said that their business turnover had dropped in the first 10 months of 2019, compared with the same period last year. Only 13% said they had not been affected. 

It is hardly surprising that companies are predicting a bleak outlook for the coming 12 months as the damage inflicted by months of protest and the ongoing Sino-U.S. trade tensions take their toll.  

The survey was carried out just before the intensified disruption and violence in mid-November, so businesses are most likely suffering even more now than the results of our survey show. 

We are very grateful to all our members who took the time to fill in our Business Prospects Survey. Your insights mean that we can accurately reflect the concerns of the business community to the Government. 

Businesses may continue to struggle even if calm does return. At our recent SME Forums, some members reported that their pipeline of orders had dried up. 

I hosted these two forums to hear directly from our SME members about the impact on the ground. The discussions were very fruitful, with representatives from a wide range of sectors sharing the issues and problems they are facing. We hope to help them with some useful and practical solutions. 

While all policies to support business are welcome, restoring normality and healing divisions are critical for the city’s recovery process. Hoping that the protests will die a natural death over time is not the solution. The Government needs to engage in genuine dialogue with all sectors to start rebuilding society and the economy. 

This is particularly key for SMEs which have limited reserves to carry them through these very challenging times. Restoring order, not concessions, is the key to their survival, because at the end of the day businesses will not be able to recover and investors will not return unless things get back to normal.

We hope for a peaceful end to the year to enable this process of recovery to begin and a brighter 2020 for all.

Aron Harilela
[email protected]