What Change After Lockdown in Hong Kong

I'm walking through Hong Kong right nowwhich is virtually unrecognizable compared to how things were just a fewmonths ago. Nearly everyone I see is wearing a face mask, to get into moststores and restaurants, you have to have your temperature checked. From McDonald's to Starbucks and even local eateries these measures have been put in placenearly everywhere you look. What I'm seeing could provide a glimpse of dailylife and business for the foreseeable future. As many countries reopen parts oftheir economies gradually, how will our routines change in the short and longterm? I'm talking to business owners here and in Shanghai to see what life lookslike after lockdown. Hong Kong has been dealing with the corona virus outbreak since January 22nd.

Hong Kong is a dense city with more than 7 million people andit has managed to get the situation here largely under control. At the entrance ofthis grocery store I'm required to have my temperature checked. Even though I've ordered my coffee to go, businesses here will still take my temperature as aprecaution. Now face masks are not mandatory here the way they've beenmandated in places like Singapore, but it is quite rare to see someone who's notwearing one. While restaurants in Hong Kong have remained open for business,even dine-in services, they've been required to cut their seating capacityin half. This makes it difficult for some restaurants especially those operatingin small spaces to turn a profit. In recent weeks I've been to a number ofrestaurants that have physical dividers inside in an effort to reduce physicaldistance and exposure between customers. As economies reopen in phases,it is a survival of the fittest for businesses. There were over 15,000restaurants in Hong Kong last summer. By the end of this summer, I anticipatethey'll be less than 10,000.

That's Asim. He's the co-founder of Black Sheep Restaurants which employs about 1,000 people at 24 trendy eateries around Hong Kong. Physical distancing is here to stay till there is a vaccine, I feel that we will need to exist within some framework of physical distancing. In his restaurants customers are screened for their recent travel history in the past 14 days and their temperatures get checked. Meanwhile, hand sanitizers and face masks are everywhere you look. There's a risk of keeping therestaurant open and having our people in the front lines. But, closing down will almost certainly will lead to economic failure. Five demands, not one less! Even before the outbreakbusinesses here were affected by the social unrest in Hong Kong in 2019. Asimnow sees this as the new normal. Restaurants are the last non-digitalfrontier. The importance of these brick-and-mortar spaces is not going todwindle. I would argue that it would become even more important.

Here in Hong Kong, gyms bars and spas have all closed at some point but restaurants here haveremained open even for dine-in service and it's really one of the only majorcities in the world in which restaurants have been allowed to operate. I was getting kind of depressed in February because it's my first time opening a restaurant. Luca is an Italian living in Shanghai. He just opened his new restaurant and lounge, Sakemate at the end of 2019. Just weeks after opening his Japanese and Peruvianinspired fusion restaurant in the heart of the city's nightlife and tourism district, he had to completely shut down for nearly a month. I have to say thatthere was one of their most difficult professional moments of my life. When he reopened in Marchhe admits things were quiet but in recent weeks business is picking upsteam. There are amazing vibes, even people going around without the masks in the street. People are feeling much, much more safe. We're enjoying life, it looks like everything is back to normal. Meanwhile with many people working from home, the way we interact and conduct business has changed. So, will we see areturn to the traditional office life? Morale really took a hit for the twomonths Shanghai was under lockdown, it was tough for the team. That's William. Based in Shanghai, he's an investor and Managing Partner of one of the biggestventure capital firms in China, SOSV. Lockdown and creativityoftentimes don't go together, you don't get that serendipity you know, when you're grabbing a couple beers with your team at the end of the Friday.

Usually a lot ofour team members are traveling all over the world. I travel 30 to 40 percent ofthe time. Having everybody in the office together all the time is actually a lotof fun. since their return to the office, William said he's enjoying making up for lost time by scheduling social events with his team, such as barbecues andhappy hour drinks. He's even seen workflows shifting atsome of his portfolio companies. W have companies that are going 50% working from home, 50% working in the office and they're basically comingto the conclusion that having everybody at home or having everybody in theoffice is the preferred way to go. How we conduct business post pandemic couldcertainly look different according to a survey of 317 chief financial officers,nearly 3 in 4 expect to move at least 5% of their on-site employees into remotepositions after the pandemic. As more businesses consider shifting parts of their workforce away from the office, the long term impact remains to be seen.In a separate survey, 41% of executives said they are concerned aboutproductivity levels decreasing. However, a nine-month remote working experiment by China's largest travel agency, C-Trip in 2010 showed that productivity levelsimproved while employee quit-rates fell. After a few weeks I've become used toseeing face masks and temperature checks everywhere I go and there's no tellinghow long these measures will be intact here in Hong Kong but we have gottenused to them as the new normal. Hey guys, it's Uptin. Thanks for watching! Check out more of our videos and let us know in the comments, what do you think will bethe new normal? While you're at it subscribe to our channel and I'll seeyou next time!