New iPhone 'will boost Hong Kong's retail sales' with mainland China demand a plus

The new Apple iPhone will give the city's battered retail sector a shot in the arm, experts say, as the price difference between Hong Kong and the mainland will help stimulate demand from across the border.

Previous iPhone launches have seen long queues in the city, as traders snap up the latest model weeks or months before it is sold across the border. The iPhone 6S will be offered in both markets on September 25, but prices are likely to be 15 per cent lower here, and with limited supply and strong demand, resellers still hope to cash in.

ANZ senior economist Raymond Yeung said sales of the phone "will give an obvious short-term boost to retail sales and help top-line retail sales in September and October".

Lo Lau, owner of a Mong Kok smartphone shop, expected the new phone - with official prices starting at HK$6,388 - to fetch HK$11,000 to HK$20,000 at resale. A street trader said he planned to charge a minimum of HK$12,000 for a 16GB iPhone 6S Plus, the cheapest of the new Apple range.

Demand for the iPhone has driven record profits for Apple in the past. Speaking at the unveiling of the new model, chief executive Tim Cook said the iPhone market in China had grown 75 per cent year-on-year, compared with 35 per cent globally.

China is Apple's second-largest market after the Americas, bringing in US$13.2 billion in the latest quarter, up 112 per cent on the same period last year.