Hong Kong counts cost of Typhoon Wipha: losses of ‘up to HK$2 billion’ on Sunday

Typhoon Wipha may have caused financial losses of up to HK$2 billion (US$255 million) on Sunday alone, economists have said, as Hong Kong businesses counted the costs of a storm that triggered the maximum No 10 warning signal.

City leader John Lee Ka-chiu on Monday noted that “significant reform” of the stock market allowed trading sessions during typhoons, aiming to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness and minimise disruptions caused by severe weather.

Professor Terence Chong Tai-leung, executive director of the Lau Chor Tak Institute of Global Economics and Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), said that the catering, retail and transport sectors took the biggest hit from Wipha.

Wipha, a Thai name meaning “splendour” or “radiance”, forced most residents to stay indoors and led to the cancellation of 500 flights, affecting around 100,000 passengers.

Lau estimated that the losses on Sunday could be around HK$2 billion to HK$3 billion. He added that the financial damage would have been higher if the typhoon had hit on a weekday.

“There is less economic activity on Sunday, so including damage, the losses will not be as severe as [a typhoon] on a working day,” he said.

“Expenditure usually associated with weekends such as in tourism, retail or taking taxis would have been reduced, but it was likely to be less than half a day of GDP.”