Hong Kong’s economic losses from Ragasa may hit billions, experts say

Super Typhoon Ragasa may have resulted in billions of Hong Kong dollars in economic losses to the city, but its overall impact may have been less severe than past storms, with more people working from home and the stock market trading despite the adverse weather, experts have said.

But they warned on Thursday that as extreme weather became more frequent, significant annual economic losses were becoming a “new normal” for Hong Kong.

The world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, Ragasa, battered the Greater China region on Wednesday, triggering Hong Kong’s highest-level No 10 warning signal and bringing the city to a standstill on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Massive waves and storm surges damaged coastal restaurants, with losses running into millions of Hong Kong dollars, according to owners.

“Economic losses from extreme weather will become a new normal for Hong Kong, as well as the world,” said Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist with Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank.

Economist Simon Lee Siu-po said the estimated loss from Ragasa was between HK$2 billion and HK$3 billion (US$257 million and US$386 million).