Battered by falling sales to Mainland tourists, Hong Kong’s jewellers are enjoying an unexpected surprise: a mini gold rush. Luk Fook CEO William Wong Wai-sheung told The Standard that the number of shoppers in the company’s stores has doubled in the last fortnight – perhaps bringing back memories of the last retail gold rush in early 2013.
Wong says consumers are buying gold while the price is cheap, stocking up as an investment. The shoppers are locals, not mainlanders. Gold prices hit a five year low on Wednesday as the market anticipated a rise in US interest rates as early as September.
In Hong Kong, the retail gold commodity price has fallen seven per cent in one month. Wong told The Standard sales were particularly brisk in residential districts such as Sheung Shui, Yau Tsim Mong, Causeway Bay and Kwun Tong.
