Hong Kong Retail Gets Lift from Govt. Stimulus

RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's hard-luxury sales saw an upswing in April as the health situation improved and the government released new retail vouchers.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts climbed 14% year on year to HKD 3 billion ($382.7 million) for the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported Wednesday. The increase comes after two consecutive months of sharp declines amid tightened Covid-19 restrictions.Sales in all retail categories increased 12% to HKD 30.19 billion ($3.85 billion). "The value of retail sales rebounded visibly...in April...on the back of [the] receding local epidemic and the disbursement of the first batch of consumption vouchers," a government spokesperson said.At the beginning of April, authorities distributed initial stimulus payments of HKD 5,000 ($637), which will be followed by a second installment of the same amount.In the first four months of the year, sales of jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts fell 13% to HKD 10.72 billion ($1.37 billion). Proceeds from all retail segments slipped 3.1% to HKD 113.06 billion ($14.41 billion)."Looking ahead, the retail sector should continue to recover provided that the local epidemic situation remains stable," the spokesperson added. "The consumption-voucher scheme and other measures rolled out by the government will render further support to consumption demand."Image: Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. (Flickr)