Hong Kong service sector hammered by coronavirus

Financial fallout spreads across wide range of businesses, from railways to retail

20200417 Hung Hom MTR station

Suspension of Hung Hom Station in Kowloon, which halted through-train service between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, severely hit the profits of Guangshen Railway, the company revealed. © Getty Images

KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei Asian Review chief business news correspondent

TOKYO -- The economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic has reached Hong Kong's all-important service sector, as businesses from railways to retailers report the ill effects of the contagion.

Guangshen Railway, which operates train service between Hong Kong and mainland China, is expecting to record a net loss of between 450 million yuan and 550 million yuan ($63.6 million and $77.7 million) for the first three months of the year. The company, which has run the 173-km through-train service connecting Kowloon and Guangzhou for almost a century and is listed in both Hong Kong and Shanghai, made 390.3 million yuan in profit for the same period last year.

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