China's Yuan Policy a Rare Bright Spot for Hong Kong Retail
- Drop against yen reduces Japan lure as Hong Kong dollar stable
- Exchange rate may put floor on sales decline, analyst says
A human billboard carrying an advertising placard for body treatments walks past handbags in a window display of a store at night in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, April 14, 2016. Hong Kong is scheduled to release consumer price index (CPI) figures on April 21.
Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/BloombergHong Kong’s embattled retailers are finally getting a break.
After mainland tourist arrivals plunged last year as policy makers devalued the yuan, foreign-exchange moves may now encourage shoppers back to the city by making alternatives such as Japan and Malaysia more expensive. China’s central bank has this year kept the yuan closely linked to the U.S. currency, and therefore the greenback-pegged Hong Kong dollar, while allowing it to drop 11.1 percent against the yen and 6.7 percent versus the ringgit.