Part one of this report gave an overview of the Hong Kong wine market. This part takes a closer look at what the duty cut really means in turning the city into a fine wine hub.
The advantages to zeroing duty are several: it eliminates the need for bonded storage and diminishes the administrative burden involved, for example. Most obviously, however, it provides a big incentive to traders and sellers because it lowers prices. Wine sales in September 2008 were up 23% on the same month last year. Since the tax cut came into effect in February, average bottle prices...