Financial markets are watching closely as the ongoing political crisis in Hong Kong stretches into its third month.
So far, neither side has backed down over the issue which initially sparked tensions — a proposed extradition bill that provides a mechanism for Hong Kong citizens in breach of the law to be extradited to China.
As clashes between protestors and police become increasingly violent, many analysts are questioning how it will affect Hong Kong’s standing as a trading hub and international finance centre.
But an announcement this morning from ASX-listed Love Group Global (ASX:LVE) — an Asia-based online matchmaking platform — highlighted another consequence of the political tension; in this case related to matters of the heart.
As it happens (and perhaps not surprisingly), Hong Kong has lost that lovin’ feeling. Love Group summarised its current predicament in a concise statement to the local bourse this morning.
The company advised that “the recent and ongoing demonstration in Hong Kong has impacted the company’s personal matchmaking business, with fewer bookings and consultation performed for the past two months”.
Shares in LVE were unchanged in morning trade at 9c.
In response, the company said it had reduced marketing spend and shed some part-time staff, in order to cut costs to match the corresponding decrease in revenue.
Looking ahead, the Love Group remains optimistic that Hong Kong will eventually navigate its way through an increasingly wayward political maelstrom.
Love Group’s “operations are flexible enough to scale up again when the situation in Hong Kong returns to normal”, the company said.
In other ASX tech news today:
Online gaming company Esports Mogul (ASX:ESH) announced an update to its online gaming and marketing platform. The company said its new Branded Hubs initiative would allow gaming teams and publishers to centralise their e-sports digital content across different gaming and social media outlets. Shares in ESH were unchanged at 1.1c.
Environmental Clean Technologies (ASX:ECT) presented a revised 12-month strategy to the market, which is aimed at “achieving positive cashflow within the next 12 months”. ECT said it would take a three-tiered approach covering organic growth, acquisitions and a corporate restructure. Shares initially ticked higher to 0.4c before trading flat.
And video advertising company engage:BDR (ASX:EN1) provided a trading update for August with monthly revenues of $1.66m, up 15 per cent from July. The company added that at the start of August it was forced to suspend its “single largest publishing relationship” due to recurrent ad-quality scanning issues. Once the problem has been addressed, EN1 said it expects an immediate incremental month revenue increase of $300,000 to $500,000. Shares in the company were unchanged at 3.7c.