Published on : Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Hong Kong has scrapped unlimited -entry visa for tourists entering the city from Shenzhen. Now the citizens of Shenzhen will be allowed to visit Hong Kong only once a week as these Chinese citizens made unlimited visits to Hong Kong merely due to trade tourism and for one product that really matters to tech Asia —the iPhone.
The Shenzhen- Hong Kong border is considered to be the busiest crossing in the world. The Chinese mainlanders have made 47 million visits in the last year. Most people however originate from Shenzhen. The visitors buy goods from Hong Kong and tug it back across the border on foot, everyday. This practice has earned a local term ‘goudai,’ which means to bring back.
People from China in a bid to avoid taxes go for these imported goods as tax tariff on these items are nonexistent. Baby formula, luxury fashion items and electronics particularly the iPhone can be attained at very low prices. Latest models that come to China much later than Hong Kong. China’s grey market will greatly suffer due to this regulation. Hong Kong was more worried about its increasing revenue that it got from these buying sprees of Chinese trade tourists. Even Shenzhen grew to become the richest city of China. But actual tourism lost its value and now it was more of an illegal trade act. With tourism taking a huge hit Hong Kong protested against the mainland government.
Although the iPhone is assembled in China, with delayed roll outs of the iPhone in the Chinese market, the mainlanders find it better to get their latest phones from Hong Kong. This also helps Apple to buffer some of its losses in the Chinese market and Chinese buyers spend less for their latest gadget. But with the new regulation the company will also suffer losses in its sales.
Tags: hong kong, iphone, shenzhen
|
||
   
|
||
