Latest news with #SimonWong
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Elevated rents a ‘big problem' for Hong Kong restaurants as closures mount
Hong Kong's restaurant industry is bracing for the wave of business closures to continue into the second half of the year with little hope for a quick turnaround, following a string of shutdowns of well-established chains in the city. 'We are worried about the overall situation in the second half of the year,' Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, told a radio show on Saturday. Wong cited rent as a 'rather big problem', with industry observers saying that prices remained elevated. However, some landlords had recently reduced rents, and in certain areas, prices dropped by up to 15 per cent over the past six months, he added. 'However, when calculated by cost compared with the Greater Bay Area, especially Shenzhen, our costs are still higher,' he said. 'So, in terms of labour, rent, ingredients, other administrative expenses and promotion, it is precisely the cost-effectiveness that puts immense pressure on operating a restaurant in Hong Kong.' Bakery chain Taipan Bread & Cakes, the inventor of 'snow skin' mooncakes, closed down all of its branches earlier this week after more than four decades in the business, becoming the latest in the list of major chains that have shut down in recent years.
RTHK
10 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
Cut rents further to lift catering sector
Cut rents further to lift catering sector Simon Wong says visitors to Hong Kong are spending less. Photo: RTHK A catering sector representative on Saturday said rents will continue to be a challenge despite a recent reduction. Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades told a Commercial Radio programme that even though the SAR has been welcoming more tourists this year, business performance is worse than the pre-Covid period. This is because spending for each visitor has dropped by 20 percent. Noting that landlords have slashed rents by up to 15 percent on average in the past half-year – and even 30 percent in some districts – Wong expressed the hope that they would go down even further. "If there's so much empty space on the street, the landlords would feel that kind of pressure and they are willing to lower their rent at this moment. And I'm looking forward to more decrease in the rent because still the rents compared to other expenses are quite high," he told reporters. "Our operating expenses is comprised of rent, salaries and also food costs, and rental is one of the major expenses we encounter. So if the rent can go down by at least another 20 or 25 percent, it would help us a lot." Wong also noted that the phenomenon of Hongkongers heading north to spend is "irreversible", but he hopes that the government will expand multiple-entry visas to cover the entire Greater Bay Area, or even other mainland cities to help the catering sector. Meanwhile, Wong said he expects a campaign – which sees more than 3,800 restaurants offering discounts of up to 29 percent to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the SAR's establishment on July 1 –to boost business by up to 15 percent that day.
News18
12-06-2025
- General
- News18
Blaze On Singapore Ship Enters Third Day, IAF's MI-17 V5 Joins Firefighting Ops
Last Updated: With the blaze still raging, the Indian Air Force's MI-17 V5 helicopter has been deployed to drop fire retardant, joining the Coast Guard's ongoing efforts off the Kerala coast The MV Wan Hai 503 had 22 crew members on board — 8 Chinese, 6 Taiwanese, 5 Burmese, and 3 Indonesians. (X/@indiannavy) A massive fire continues to rage onboard the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503 for the third consecutive day, even as Indian authorities intensify firefighting and search operations off the Kerala coast. The Indian Coast Guard is leading efforts on the sea, while the Indian Air Force has now deployed an MI-17 V5 helicopter to conduct aerial sorties and drop fire suppressant dye to douse the flames. The incident was first reported on Monday, June 9, around 09:30 AM, when a series of explosions triggered an underdeck fire while the vessel was sailing approximately 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi. The alert was relayed by the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) in Mumbai to its Kochi counterpart. The ship was reportedly near Beypore, off Kozhikode district, when the fire broke out. The vessel, en route from Colombo to Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port, was carrying nitrocellulose, a highly flammable substance used in manufacturing explosives and industrial chemicals. The cargo, imported by a Mumbai-based company, is under investigation. The MV Wan Hai 503 had 22 crew members on board — 8 Chinese, 6 Taiwanese, 5 Burmese, and 3 Indonesians. As the fire intensified, the entire crew was forced to abandon ship. In a coordinated operation, the Indian Navy deployed INS Surat and a Dornier aircraft, rescuing 18 crew members, who were later brought to Mangaluru. Among them, two crew members are critically injured, and four have minor injuries. The rest have been accommodated in a hotel. Four crew members remain missing, and extensive search efforts are underway. #IndianNavy in a closely coordinated #SearchAndRescue operation with @IndiaCoastGuard, DG Shipping and other stakeholders, has safely rescued 18 out of 22 crew members Singaporean Flagged MV Wan Hai 503. The MV had reported internal container explosion and resultant major fire… — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) June 9, 2025 Singapore's High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong, took to X to thank Indian authorities, saying: Deep gratitude 🙏 for our Indian friends @IndiaCoastGuard @indiannavy @IN_HQSNC @IN_WNC @SpokespersonMoD swift and brave rescue operations for the 🇸🇬-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 which caught fire off #Beypore. HC Wong #IndianNavy #IndianCoastGuard 📷: @DefencePROkochi — Singapore in India (@SGinIndia) June 9, 2025 Firefighting Efforts Continue Coast Guard vessels Sachet and Samudra Prahari remain at the site, battling the fire with support from IAF's MI-17 V5, which is now conducting aerial suppression operations. The fire continues to pose safety and environmental risks, especially after 15–20 containers fell overboard due to the explosions. Authorities say a full investigation is underway into the cause of the fire, the explosions, and the hazardous cargo's intended use. The ship remains adrift and under constant watch.
Scroll.in
10-06-2025
- General
- Scroll.in
Cargo ship catches fire off Kerala coast, 4 missing
A Singapore-flagged container ship on its way to Navi Mumbai caught fire off the coast of Kerala on Monday, the Indian Coast Guard said. While four of the ship's 22 crew members were missing, the remaining had been rescued, it added. A search operation was underway to rescue the missing persons. The 18 members of the crew had reportedly jumped into the sea and used emergency rafts to escape the fire that broke out in the middle portion of the ship MV Wan Hai 503, The Hindu quoted officials of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority as saying. The rescued crew was taken to Mangaluru in Karnataka for treatment, OnManorama reported. The incident cook place when the vessel was off the coast of Beypore port, the news outlet reported. The Indian Coast Guard said that the ship was 130 nautical miles north-west of Kochi. There were reportedly more than 650 containers, including 150 containing hazardous materials, in the cargo vessel, The Hindu reported. Twenty containers had fallen into the sea after several explosions and fire on board. A container explosion had triggered the fire, OnManorama reported. The ship remained adrift and continued to emit smoke as of Monday night. Five coast guard ships and an aircraft were dispatched to rescue the crew and for surveillance, The Hindu quoted officials from the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre in Kochi as saying. The vessel had departed Colombo, Sri Lanka on Saturday and was expected to reach Mumbai on Tuesday. Singaporean High Commissioner Simon Wong said on social media: 'Professional and rapid response of the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy. Praying that remaining crew are found soon.' While two of the four missing persons are Taiwanese citizens, one is from Indonesia and another from Myanmar. The ship's owners have been requested to assess and report the nature of the cargo in the affected hold to ascertain the presence of hazardous material. No information has been yet received on whether dangerous goods were involved in the explosion, The Indian Express reported. This came two weeks after a Liberian-flagged container vessel carrying 'hazardous cargo' sank off the coast of Kochi on May 25 after it began gradually tilting a day earlier. All 24 crew members on board the vessel were rescued. On May 29, the Kerala government declared the wreckage of the container ship a state-specific disaster. It was carrying 13 containers with hazardous cargo and 12 of calcium carbide.
News18
09-06-2025
- General
- News18
Singapore Thanks India For Rescue Ops After Cargo Ship Fire: 'Grateful To Indian Friends'
Last Updated: The vessel had a multinational crew onboard, including 8 Chinese, 6 Taiwanese, 5 from Myanmar, and 3 Indonesian nationals. Singapore's High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong, extended gratitude to India after the successful rescue of 18 crew members from the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503, which caught fire off the Indian coast on June 9. Taking to X, he wrote, 'Deep gratitude for our Indian friends @IndiaCoastGuard @indiannavy @IN_HQSNC @IN_WNC @SpokespersonMoD. Swift and brave rescue operations for the 🇸🇬-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 which caught fire off #Beypore. HC Wong". Deep gratitude 🙏 for our Indian friends @IndiaCoastGuard @indiannavy @IN_HQSNC @IN_WNC @SpokespersonMoD swift and brave rescue operations for the 🇸🇬-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 which caught fire off #Beypore. HC Wong #IndianNavy #IndianCoastGuard 📷: @DefencePROkochi — Singapore in India (@SGinIndia) June 9, 2025 Meanwhile, the Indian Navy confirmed that 18 out of 22 crew members aboard the Singapore-flagged container ship have been safely evacuated. The incident took place approximately 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal and 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi, Kerala. According to the Navy, the vessel had a multinational crew onboard, including 8 Chinese, 6 Taiwanese, 5 from Myanmar, and 3 Indonesian nationals. As the fire intensified, all crew members were forced to abandon the ship. Two Indian Coast Guard ships, Sachet and Samudra Prahari, are actively deployed at the scene of the fire to assist in firefighting and rescue operations. '#IndianNavy in a closely coordinated #SearchAndRescue operation with @IndiaCoastGuard, DG Shipping and other stakeholders, has safely rescued 18 out of 22 crew members Singaporean Flagged MV Wan Hai 503. The MV had reported internal container explosion and resultant major fire onboard. The inputs of the incident were received at @IFC_IOR at about 0930 hr on #09Jun 25," said Indian Navy spokesperson in an official statement. '#INSSurat and a Dornier aircraft were immediately deployed by the #IndianNavy to render necessary assistance, and at about 1630 hr, 18 out of 22 crew members were safely rescued by #Surat. First aid has been rendered to the injured crew members and the ship is presently proceeding to New Mangalore for disembarkation and further medical management," it added. #IndianNavy in a closely coordinated #SearchAndRescue operation with @IndiaCoastGuard, DG Shipping and other stakeholders, has safely rescued 18 out of 22 crew members Singaporean Flagged MV Wan Hai 503. The MV had reported internal container explosion and resultant major fire… — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) June 9, 2025 Notably, the vessel was en route from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai, with an expected time of arrival (ETA) on 10 June. The fire rapidly engulfed the midsection of the vessel, which is currently adrift.
