MTR's Psuedo Curfew Hours

The violence has led the MTR to shorten its hours of service everyday

For the last few days, the MTR has closed its transport network at 8pm.

In text messages it says: "Due to vandalism, some damaged facilities are still under repair. Some stations will remain closed and service hours will end earlier tomorrow [insert date here]. Updated information will be provided tomorrow morning".

Kwun Tong station was badly hit by protesters on the weekend

So every morning we wake up to get a text message from the MTR saying: "The MTR train service is running normally today, however due to serious vandalism, some stations will not be opened for service, damaged facilities and station entrances/exits in other stations need time to repair." The seven stations that continue to be closed are: Mongkok, Kwun Tong, Tseung Kwan O, Hang Hau, Che Kung Temple, Sha Tin Wai, and Shek Mun.

Shutting down the MTR at 8pm is a strange one -- it's the end of the rush hour period, but for many people, they have just started eating dinner or are halfway through.

As a result many restaurants, particularly smaller ones have had to close early so that their staff can get home. Why not 9pm? Or did the restaurant sector not lobby the government hard enough to change the time to at least an hour later?

Closing a major public transport system at 8pm is basically a pseudo curfew. While it's true some stations are severely damaged, like the one in Kwun Tong where the customer service centre was completely burned down into a mass of charred metal, while an entrance to Mongkok station was totally burned down and the glass panels destroyed, the other 87 stations are functioning for the most part, no?

MTR turnstiles have been destroyed by protesters

And if the Hong Kong government wants the economy to recover as quickly as possible, why not let the MTR run just a tad longer?

When people can't go out, they aren't spending money and keeping the local economy going.

But no, this pseudo curfew is a way to prevent protesters from roaming around at night, making the rest of us err on the side of caution and stay home or close to home. It has created unnecessary stress and panic, with people lining up at ATMs and withdrawing loads of cash, as well as hitting supermarkets and stocking up on everything from rice to toilet paper.

Now there are reports that hundreds of restaurants have shuttered in Hong Kong amid the protests, laying off thousands of workers. Those dining establishments that are still open are not keeping freelance staff, while some full-time staff are forced to take unpaid leave.

Many of these restaurants are mom-and-pop shops, while others were on the edge of closing because of high rents and the impact of the protests hastened their demise.

A shop in Wan Chai shutters its doors due to the protests

It's really sad seeing everyone in retail and hospitality suffering so much and it's not their fault at all.

However when you do patronize stores and shops, many staff are friendly in the hopes that you will come back again. It's kind of like the reset button after SARS was declared over in 2003.

And everyone could be helped a bit more if the MTR stayed open just a bit longer.

Even more strange is that we don't know when the MTR will close each day until the next morning. We're kind of held hostage in that we must adjust our lives around this very early closing, day by day.

The one good thing is that buses, trams and taxis are seeing more business after 8pm, while glass manufacturers and contractors are making a killing with repairing windows or fixing up a shop that was previously hit by protesters.

Does this mean we're going to start seeing early bird specials at restaurants, even bars. Or are delivery services seeing an uptick in business?

Hongkongers can adapt quickly, but for how long will they stand the MTR's shorter service hours?

China Squeezes Outflows to a Drip

Time is running out for Chinese to move stacks of money out of China

It's the news many people in China who are trying to get their money out didn't want to hear.

Starting from January 1, 2018, individuals will only be allowed to withdraw a maximum of 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) a year, regardless of how many separate bank accounts or ATM cards they have, according to a statement by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Under the current rules, there is an annual ATM withdrawal cap of 100,000 yuan per bank card, which is why many people have a number of cards attached to a single account, or multiple accounts with different banks.

While people will be allowed to continue to hold several ATM cards, the annual limit will apply to the combined value of all the withdrawals.

Sounds like cash withdrawals are screeching to a major halt. I can already hear it and it's deafening.

People can only move 100,000 yuan per year out of China

The foreign exchange regulator also warned that if any Chinese is found using mainland bank cards to withdraw more than 100,000 yuan from overseas ATMs within a calendar year, they will be barred from taking out cash abroad using any mainland bank card for the rest of the year -- as well as the following year.

I think I heard another loud screech.

These latest regulations are extremely restrictive, making it extremely difficult for people to make mortgage payments on homes they have bought abroad (if they haven't paid for them in cash already), or pay for children's tuition overseas, or in some cases to launder ill-gotten gains.

The regulator said the restrictions were "a necessary measure" to curb money laundering, terrorism financing and tax evasion."

It added some Chinese have been found to have used a large number of ATM cards to withdraw sums of cash overseas that far exceeded what was needed for "normal consumption", according to the regulator.

What exactly constitutes "normal consumption"? It would be interesting to know what that figure, or range would be...

The foreign exchange regulator also warned Chinese not to try to evade the rules. "People should not borrow other people's bank cards or lend them to others to help get around the regulation," the statement said.

Regardless, people knew these restrictive measures would be instituted in 2018, so there was (some) time to move as much money abroad as they could this year.

Nevertheless, the regulator says 100,000 yuan is plenty of money to spend for those traveling abroad, while "containing the large sums made by a few lawbreakers".

Will we see less mainland Chinese snapping up luxury homes and condos outside of China in 2018? That will be the sign these measures are really effective or not.

Mainlanders' Preferred ATMs

Almost all bank account holders in China use UnionPay ATM cards

Macau was told to clamp down on excessive cash withdrawals by mainlanders from ATM machines, and in May apparently installed facial recognition technology for security reasons.

That scared them off in Macau, but this has resulted in more mainlanders going to Hong Kong to withdraw cash using their UnionPay bank cards.

ATM withdrawals in Macau have decreased dramatically

When the media asked the Hong Kong Monetary Authority about how big the impact was on the local banking system, the monetary chiefs refused to confirm or deny there was a surge.

However they do know by how much because the authority has instructed local banks to submit data on cash withdrawals by UnionPay cards through the ATM network -- both the volume and the timing of the withdrawals.

But the HKMA just doesn't want to comment, saying: "We are not in a position to comment on any dialogues of a supervisory nature".

Macau ATMs now use facial recognition technology

The spokesman even added there are no plans to install facial recognition technology in ATMs. Good for us to know.

Currently mainlanders can withdraw up to 100,000 yuan (US$15,000) in cash overseas and remit up to US$50,000 worth of foreign currency offshore annually.

Those who use UnionPay cards (which is practically everyone who has a bank account in China), can withdraw up to 10,000 yuan per day for each card they have.

As a result they open as many bank accounts as they can to be able to withdraw tens of thousands of yuan per day.

Mainlanders now prefer to withdraw cash from Hong Kong

And now Hong Kong is the preferred city to get their gobs of cash out before they hit the casinos. It's good to know the city is still relevant to mainlanders... they may not want to shop here anymore, but at least we're a convenient ATM for them...

Number of the Day: HK$10 Billion

Macau seems to be another place for mainlanders to move their money

That is the amount of money that is withdrawn from ATMs in Macau per month.

Per month!

And the banks have received instructions to make sure these automatic teller machines never run out of bank notes too.

The 1,300 machines around the former Portuguese enclave are monitored 24 hours a day, and if they start getting low, a team is ready to refill them with more cash.

Looks like Macanese ATMs are another avenue for capital outflows.

What's also interesting is that since December last year, the maximum amount of withdrawals dropped from 10,000 patacas to 5,000 patacas, but that doesn't seem to have prevented mainlanders from getting money out.

Facial recognition technology will soon be installed at ATMs

There are reports that mainland racketeers use hundreds of bank cards to withdraw cash from Macau ATMs as part of a multi-million-dollar foreign exchange scheme.

In one case last January, the court heard evidence that one couple used 402 cash card accounts to make withdrawals from Macau ATMs as part of a 105 million yuan illegal foreign exchange racket.

A similar case in the same court last October had evidence showing 222 cash card accounts were used by a gang to make ATM withdrawals in the casino hub as part of a 139 million yuan foreign exchange scam.

Another interesting statistic is that the number of ATMs in Macau has quadrupled since the gaming industry was liberalized in 2001.

Either local Macanese like playing with ATM machines, or they are specifically geared towards mainlanders.

But maybe it'll be game over soon, as facial recognition technology will be used to scan millions of bank card users at ATMs in Macau.

The Macau government said all holders of mainland-issued China UnionPay bank cards "will be require to scan their mainland identity card and undergo a facial recognition check".

Officials did not have a time frame when the new scheme would be implemented, but one can imagine even more cash is being withdrawn now as we write this.

The vast majority of visitors to Macau are from mainland China at 30 million last year, 20 million of which were from Guangdong province.

The Chinese government is desperately trying to stop capital outflows any way it can, and yet people still find a way to get their money out. It is normal for people on the mainland to have a number of bank accounts, so facial recognition may not be all that helpful.

This cat and mouse game will continue, and Beijing might be the loser in the end.