HONG KONG -- Retailers in Hong Kong suffered a plunge in August sales and see no relief in sight, as the continuing social unrest scared off travelers and forced the closures of stores.
Total retail sales slumped 23% in August from a year earlier, worse than during the depths of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, according to a government report on Wednesday. The total retail value for the month fell to its lowest level since February 2011, to 29.4 billion Hong Kong dollars ($3.7 billion).
