Hong Kong Still Struggling to Get Beyond Covid

Hong Kong still struggling to recover from Covid pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic changed people's lives, and in Hong Kong, the well-heeled set have changed their ways so profoundly that it has had a knock-on effect on the city's economy.

A friend who works in the luxury sector told us that her clients used to love going to charity balls and galas, which meant spending hours in the salon, spending money on new dresses and new jewellery, didn't have to do that for three years when Covid struck in early 2020.

Many well-heeled aren't going to balls anymore

Once Covid was over and Hong Kong opened up with parties back on, these wealthy people didn't feel the need to go back to those old ways. They got used to eating at home instead of going out to eat, and parties? Why go when they have become homebodies and would rather play with their grandchildren than dress up and go out for a few hours?

Or if they did buy jewellery, they didn't care to buy real diamonds anymore -- they are content to buy lab-grown diamonds at one-fifth the price at HK$20,000 compared to HK$100,000 for a real diamond mined underground.

When diamond sellers point out the lab-grown diamonds aren't worth much, the rich clients didn't care; they didn't even care to invest in diamonds either when they can get 4 percent to 5 percent on a term deposit in the bank. With diamonds you still have to check the market value and be able to sell them, so they are not a guaranteed return on investment.

Eating out has changed a lot too. During the pandemic in Hong Kong, the government mandated that restaurants could only open until 6pm -- the joke was that the virus only came out after dinner time. So people would eat dinner at 5pm to beat the deadline, or they would cook at home, and more people did this, a chore that for many became a staple, or sparked a culinary interest for others.

Once all the restrictions were lifted, people continued to eat early and go home early. Meanwhile there are others who want to catch up with friends and linger, but the restaurant staff present the bill at 8.45pm or start stacking chairs at 9.30pm. Gone are the days of eating dinner at 8.30pm or 9pm and going to a bar afterwards. Oh and did you know cocktails cost HK$170 these days? 

Who is willing to serve others in Hong Kong?

So many people flock regularly to Shenzhen not only because they find the food there is cheap and there are many choices, but also because they feel the service is much better than in Hong Kong. Here in the city, no one wants to do grunt work, no one wants to serve others. They would rather become a security guard who sits around all day, some in air conditioning, than to stand around for 10 hours a day carrying plates, cleaning tables and fulfilling customers' fussy requests.

Is it any wonder that Hong Kong can't pull itself out of its rut? There are too many factors and not enough solutions to these problems...