Hong Kong goes into recession

Hong Kong is destroying itself with its protests.

 

Day 1: Wandering in Central Hong Kong

We're just walking through Central Hong Kong. I see nothing special on the streets. I have the feeling there aren't a lot of busses as I normally would expect. That's because all busses are diverted back when they reach the protester areas. I haven't seen it yet and actually don't plan to either.

Instead, I'm going to buy some physical gold while I'm here. Currently I'm sitting in the Bank of China tower for some business activities. The security here is pretty good. I need to hand over my identity card to get a visitor pass. There is also security screening when you are carrying any bags.

Yesterday, completely unrelated to economics, I attended a concert at a protestant Church in Hong Kong. This guzheng talent was pretty amazing.

Next on we go to Hang Seng Bank to buy some gold. It's very easy, you just go to counter, ask for some Perth mint kangaroo coins and it's like going to the store buying groceries.

The prices at that time were HKD 10065/ounce, HKD 5105/half ounce. This is a 4% premium which is very good when you don't need to pay for shipping costs. People are waiting in rows to buy gold in China and Hong Kong, it's the most normal thing to do, unlike the Western world, where they don't even know how much it costs.

Then we go to Causeway Bay to look at the protests. I think the hype is completely overblown. This will not impact the economy of Hong Kong whatsoever. There are less busses, less people at retail stores. But this is only one small part of Hong Kong. Tiny part....