A Soldiers Blog

SARS hits HK traders' bottom line
From Kristie LuStout, CNN Correspondent
Monday, April 14, 2003 Posted: 1346 GMT ( 9:46 PM HKT)



Convention venues have suffered as businesses cancel conferences.





• Centers for Disease Control
• World Health Organization

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Every year Hong Kong's watch industry packs up its wares and heads to the World Watch Fair in Basel, Switzerland. It's a chance to make new contacts and reel in business.

John Wong, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades and Industries says the fair contributes heavily to the industry's annual sales.

"Customers get the sample, place the order. [In a] total year we can sell more or less US$1 billion. That's a quarter of our total sales," says Wong.

That 25 percent of sales is now lost
CNN