Residents of Hong Kong are swapping their Hong Kong dollars for other currencies as political unrest affects the local currency, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Hong Kong's currency sharply weakened against the U.S. dollar starting last July, which analysts partly attribute to outflows. The Financial Times reports Hong Kong's 10 richest people lost about $15 billion since that time. The region's central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, allows the U.S. dollar to trade between 7.75 and 7.85 Hong Kong dollars, and residents are increasingly looking to convert their currency into the more stable American dollar.
Businessman Ming Chung told the Journal he abandoned his plans to purchase property in Hong Kong in favor of investing HK$4 million in a U.S.-dollar insurance product.
"It's a safer investment as opposed to buying property in Hong Kong," he said. "Because of the protests, I don't trust the market."
"It's very unsettling here," said Sarah Fairhurst, a partner at the economic consulting firm the Lantau Group who has been a Hong Kong resident for 12 years. She added she became particularly nervous after seeing videos of police using tear gas on protestors near her office. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that I don't want my money trapped here."
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