Discount bonanza from restaurants

Thousands of restaurants are expected to offer a 30 percent discount for dinner from July 15 and 20 percent off in August to capitalize on the government's cash handout, catering sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan said in a "groundbreaking promotion" to boost consumption.

Registration for the HK$10,000 handout to permanent residents open on Father's Day on Sunday and people are expected to get the money in their bank accounts as soon as July 8.

"We hope the handout will encourage people to spend locally and boost our economy while helping employees in the catering industry to secure their jobs," said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po at a press briefing alongside Cheung yesterday.

Chan met with Cheung and six catering association representatives to come up with promotions to stimulate consumption in restaurants.

Cheung, an Executive Council member and chairman of the pro-establishment Liberal Party, said all restaurants are welcome to join the program to offer discounts for dinner on both weekdays and weekends.

"They can either offer the discount for the whole bill or provide set menus of the same discount, especially for chain eateries," he said.

Cheung said the restaurants must offer the discount without a requirement on minimum spending.

"Customers will enjoy the discount even if they only eat a meal costing HK$100 or even HK$50," he said, adding eateries of all kind, including bakeries, can join the program. Asked if "yellow shops" that have expressed support for anti-fugitive protests can join, Chan said: "We want to let a hundred flowers bloom together. Every shop [can] offer promotions."

A resident waiting for the handout, named Tsui, said he is willing to splurge HK$3,000 on romantic meals with his girlfriend under the promotion. But he also wondered if restaurants will merely mark up original prices to fake offering a discount.

"I'd prefer going to restaurants that offer the discount for the entire bill. I'd like to have more variety, rather than just a few options to choose from," he said.

Cheung said he expects thousands of restaurants to take part in the promotion, with the list of participants to be announced on July 8.

Despite 20 percent of catering business usually coming from tourists, Cheung said restaurants expect to ''return to normal" if the coronavirus situation remains stable and protests subside.

"A total of HK$70 billion will be handed out to people. I hope our industry can get HK$30 billion from customers," he said.

The latest unemployment rate in the catering sector stands at 14.8 percent but Cheung said he is confident it can drop to single digits by August.

"The peak season for wedding banquets will start in October. The unemployment rate will go down," he said.

He has also reached out to banks and public utilities - such as CLP, Hongkong Electric and Towngas - to "top up" the HK$10,000 handout.

Hong Kong yesterday recorded four imported Covid-19 cases from Pakistan - two males and two females, aged three to 36 - taking the tally to 1,125 infections, including four deaths.

jane.cheung@singtaonewscorp.com