Sept 15 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A quarter of Hong Kong’s social enterprises could go out of business by the end of the year, according to a new poll, threatening the jobs of hundreds of employees as the coronavirus pandemic takes a heavy toll on the city’s economy.
COVID-19 has exacerbated the woes of the roughly 600 social enterprises that operate in Hong Kong, which have been suffering a sharp slump in business and consumer sentiment since last year due to massive anti-government street protests.
A survey of 128 social enterprises – businesses that aim to do good while turning a profit – found one in four expect to run out of cash flow within three months if the pandemic continues to affect their revenue.
“It’s a very challenging outlook,” said Chung Wai-shing, vice-chairman of the 76-member Hong Kong General Chamber of Social Enterprises, which released the poll this month.
“We didn’t expect such a situation to drag on for so long and, as social enterprises, we are hit just as hard as other businesses since we don’t rely on donations or funding,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.… (Please visit below link for more)