Dim-sum seller Ah Ling, in her fifties, complained about sliding sales. She works in a small shop selling snacks and drinks in Kwun Tong, the east of Kowloon peninsula, one of the most populated districts in Hong Kong.

"We are losing customers, as you can see, people don't have to queue up. It was nothing like what it was before. Sales keep dropping," she said.

The public in Hong Kong has been irked by escalated street violence and mob behaviors. Over 470,000 people gathered Saturday in a rally at Tamar Park to demand peace and stability.

Joe Chau Kwok-ming, chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business, said the economic downturn is putting an extra squeeze on the small and medium-sized firms.

Many enterprises have seen a 30 percent drop in business and pay cut for employees in recent months. Chau warns that if the economy continues to deteriorate, there will be a wave of shop closures and the unemployment rate is bound to rise.

Call for order

A sound business environment is the backbone of Hong Kong's economy, derived from the rule of law, convenient transportation, a developed financial industry, efficient public service and the presence of international talent.

The current chaos has a direct impact on tourism, and business negotiations in the short term, but in a long run, it will threaten Hong Kong's role as the international financial and trade hub, said Witman Hung, an HKSAR deputy to the National People's Congress.

"Finance always thrives in the safest place. When Hong Kong stops being safe, investors will have to think twice. Its appeal to high-end talent will fade away and the establishment as an innovation center will also be frustrated. The effects will be detrimental," Hung said.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong in its recent survey found that international businesses are already reporting serious consequences, ranging from an immediate hit to revenue caused by disruption to supply chains and consumption, to longer-term doubts over canceled events and shelved investments.

To prevent Hong Kong's economy from tanking, the HKSAR government on Thursday announced a package of economy-boosting measures with a total value of 19.1 billion HK dollars (about 2.4 billion U.S. dollars).

Measures range from waiving government fees and charges on enterprises for 12 months, introducing a new loan guarantee product for smaller companies to reducing salary tax, providing subsidies to school students and extra allowance for social security recipients.

Among the measures, an increase in the amount of personal income that's tax-free alone is estimated to cost 1.84 billion HK dollars (about 235 million U.S. dollars) and benefit 1.4 million people.

Paul Chan expressed the belief that the slew of economic stimulus measures will lead to a 0.3 percent economic growth.

According to HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the measures are designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises cope with the deteriorating economic situation and alleviate people's burden.

She stressed the most important task at the moment is to put an end to violence and restore social order. "We all have a stake in Hong Kong."

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