Latest news with #CommerceandEconomicDevelopment
RTHK
4 days ago
- Business
- RTHK
Shopping fest starts in bid to help ease retail woes
Shopping fest starts in bid to help ease retail woes Hong Kong Retail Management Association chairwoman Annie Yau Tse and Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Bernard Chan launch the shopping festival. Photo: RTHK The third Hong Kong Shopping Festival started on Thursday as part of efforts to help Hong Kong's ailing retail sector. The festival, organised by the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, is expected to last for two months and end in August. Association chairwoman Annie Yau Tse said the hope is to take advantage of the summer despite a majority of Hongkongers travelling since tourists will also be coming to the SAR. She said the cost of rents and labour are still high when compared to sales and that while offline shopping is becoming increasingly popular, there is still demand for physical stores. More than 180 brands have participated and will be offering over HK$1.9 billion worth of vouchers on 13 platforms such as Alipay and Payme. The association also said it aims to help push the development of a silver economy in alignment with the government's call, encouraging elderly consumption through discounts such as at Chinese medicine clinics or buying health products. Its vice chairman Andrew Wong said there has been an increase in participation throughout the past few shopping festivals. "I think this is the beauty about Hong Kong retail, so you can see there's more and more channels working with us, more industries working with us," he said. "All together, we're just gonna make it [the Hong Kong retail sector] more attractive for our local customers and tourists."
RTHK
21-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
'Public may be consulted over prepayment protection'
'Public may be consulted over prepayment protection' Algernon Yau says any legislation regulating prepayments for consumer services must balance the interests of consumers and businesses. File photo: RTHK Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau says the government may soon launch a new public consultation on possible new legislation to regulate prepayments for various consumer services – in the wake of a series of business closures that left many out of pocket. Authorities have received thousands of complaints involving millions of dollars over such closures – with firms such as gym chain Physical Fitness and medical services firm Alliance Medical Group suddenly going out of business over the past year. Speaking in an interview with RTHK, Yau said authorities are eyeing a public consultation sometime this year to explore legislation to better protect consumers. "The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau has recently noticed issues with business closures, and hope to make further consultations over a cooling-off period for advance-payment consumption and collect views from the industry,' he said. 'But no matter what kind of policies we will introduce, we must strike a balance between safeguarding the interests of consumers while taking into account the business difficulties faced by the industry. 'We'll launch an appropriate consultation, and hopefully we can do it in the second half of this year,' he said. The government previously initiated a similar public consultation in 2019, but was later shelved due to protests and the Covid pandemic.
RTHK
04-06-2025
- Business
- RTHK
'Shopping festival can help boost silver consumption'
'Shopping festival can help boost silver consumption' Commerce chief Algernon Yau says a shopping festival in the city will be a good chance for retailers to grasp the silver economy. Photo: RTHK Annie Yau Tse says retailers must embrace new technology to break through the extreme challenges facing the industry. Photo: RTHK Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau on Wednesday called on retailers to take the opportunity of a shopping festival later this year to boost consumption for silver-haired residents. His remark came after authorities last week rolled out 30 measures to tap into the "silver economy" to spur growth, of which half were related to boosting consumption for senior residents. Speaking at the Hong Kong Retail Summit 2025, Yau said the third edition of the Hong Kong Shopping Festival in the third quarter will be a good chance to put the measures into practice. "I encourage the business community to take this opportunity to offer exclusive discounts, products, as well as a combination of services for the elderly, to create a pleasant silver consumption atmosphere in the market, and to attract more silver-haired consumers," he told summit participants, many of them retail professionals. "I also hope that retailers such as supermarkets, department stores, pharmacies and personal care stores will classify the products clearly and concisely at their physical stores, and to place some common and popular silver products at places that are easy to access, so as to enhance the consumption experiences for them and their families and caregivers," he added. The commerce chief also said the government will ramp up certifications for relevant products and services to ensure their reliability. Echoing Yau, Annie Yau Tse, chairwomen of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association (HKRMA), said local retailers must embrace new technology and channels to break through the extreme challenges facing the sector. "New retail must embrace the artificial intelligence and innovative technologies, attach importance to the consumer experience, and seize the development opportunities in different fields, such as the mega event economy, low-altitude economy and silver economy, to break through the limitations of our Hong Kong retailers and open a new chapter," she said. "Hong Kong brands still have unique advantages, and we can look around and explore new markets, such as first establishing themselves in the Greater Bay Area market, before tapping into markets of other provinces and cities on the mainland." The retail veteran's remarks came as the city's retail sales fell for the 14th month in a row, dropping by 2.3 percent year on year last month to HK$28.9 billion, as changing consumption patterns continued to weigh on the industry. Yau Tse earlier estimated that the sector will see flat growth for this year, saying she hopes the April data "reached a bottom" and that the industry will stabilise in the coming months.
RTHK
28-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Elderly 'key to taking economy to next level'
Elderly 'key to taking economy to next level' Algernon Yau says it is crucial to attract the silver-haired population to spend locally. File photo: RTHK. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau said on Wednesday it is crucial to make it appealing for the silver-haired population to spend locally. Yau made the remarks a day after the government announced 30 measures to further develop Hong Kong's silver economy, such as having restaurants roll out dishes that suit the needs of the elderly and offering them exclusive discounts at expos. Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, he said the SAR has to actively tackle the challenges brought about by its ageing population in ways that will also lead to opportunities. With Hong Kong facing a need to restructure its economy, Yau said this demographic offers new stimulus capable of boosting overall economic development. "We hope that industries will develop more products for the silver market, so elderly people can have a comfortable living environment in Hong Kong," he said. "So when they go out, the places they go to will have the products they want and the food they may want to eat" Yau added that as caretakers and families of the elderly will also have certain requirements, he hopes further developments of the silver economy will also get them to spend more. For his part, Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said many eateries have already offered discounts to the elderly even before the latest attempt take development of the silver economy to the next level. He believes more than 100 eateries will join the government's "Friends & Flavours" campaign, which will see restaurants offering meal options suitable for the elderly. This is because these options have been made available in recent months and become very popular among older consumers, Wong added.
RTHK
25-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Hong Kong hoping for RCEP breakthrough this year
Hong Kong hoping for RCEP breakthrough this year Algernon Yau hopes the admission procedures for Hong Kong to join RCEP will be completed in September. File photo: RTHK Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau on Sunday said he expects procedures for Hong Kong to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to be completed this year. On a TVB programme, Yau said various countries, including New Zealand and Japan, expressed support for Hong Kong joining RCEP when he met counterparts at a recent Apec trade ministers gathering in Korea. "I hope that in September this year, RCEP will complete the accession procedures," he said. "We hope that we can join the working group and implement the accession work as soon as possible. It will take time and the estimates might not be that accurate. But it is now underway, and it's quite positive." The government submitted the accession request three years ago. On a separate note, Yau said he believes increased US tariffs on various countries provide opportunities for Hong Kong and he expects an increase in trade with the SAR. Yau said a recent Hong Kong delegation to Kuwait and Qatar secured even better results than expected, with scores of collaboration agreements signed, and Central Europe and Central Asia will become a future focus for cooperation.
