Signs are growing that Hong Kong’s pro-democracy street protests, now well into their second month, are beginning to prove a drag on the local economy.
Hong Kong’s purchasing managers' index – a survey of business conditions released by HSBC – showed that private sector activity last month dropped at its fastest pace in three years. The October reading of 47.7 compares with 49.8 the month before. A figure below 50 indicates contraction.
A student-led civil disobedience movement has closed a number of main highways in three key business districts of Hong Kong since late September. Protesters, who at one point numbered more than 100,000, have been calling on Hong Kong’s government to alter its plans for electoral reform, due to be introduced in 2017.