CHINA-MARKETS/YUAN-JAPAN REAX Chinese in Japan are not too concerned about yuan devaluation

Record ID: 144353

  • Title: CHINA-MARKETS/YUAN-JAPAN REAX Chinese in Japan are not too concerned about yuan devaluation
  • Date: 12th August 2015
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (AUGUST 12, 2015) (REUTERS) PEDESTRIANS WALKING IN SHOPPING DISTRICT IN DOWNTOWN TOKYO PEDESTRIANS ON STREET IN DOWNTOWN TOKYO (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 19-YEAR-OLD HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, MENGYUAN HUAN, SAYING: "Things are a little more expensive, but there isn't a big impact, because there is no big difference (in prices)." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SHOPPING AT AN APPLE S
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA6FGSVK4EUL55G8Q0K2SEGJHJP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Chinese tourists and resident students in Tokyo, Japan, were forced to re-examine their future purchasing power on Wednesday (August 12) after the Chinese government devalued the yuan by nearly two percent.
    While most said they don't expect it will change much their shopping sprees, some said they may have to change their shopping list somewhat.
    "It will feel a little bit expensive when I am shopping. But I won't be too concerned since it's not such a big chance," 19 year old high school student Huang Mengyuan said as she toured Tokyo's high-end shopping district.
    "Before the yuan's devaluation, I would buy some expensive gifts to my friends and family, but now I have to think about it and explain this situation to them," said 30-year old engineer from Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai.
    Even tour guide Wu Siyu from Hainan province says he doesn't think it will affect the tourism industry here.
    "Even though it is no longer cheap to shop in Japan due to yuan's devaluation, I don't think it will dramatically hit the tourism industry to Japan," Wu told Reuters.
    Chinese students in Japan say they don't think the increase in living expenses will be too difficult to overcome.
    "If I can cover my living expenses by taking a part time job in Japan, I don't think the devaluation will affect the life of foreign students, like me," said Hou Linlin said.
    The average Chinese tourist spent just over 231,000 yen (1,855 U.S. dollars) per person in Japan in 2014, according to Japanese government figures. At nearly 660 billion yen (5.3 billion U.S. dollars) for all 2.4 million Chinese tourists visiting Japan in 2014, that makes them the biggest spenders in Japan's tourism industry.
    Chinese spending sprees have become famous in Japan, with media reporting on length at the "bakugai' (explosive purchases) phenomenon of Chinese tourists.
    On Wednesday, the People's Bank of China set the yuan's midpoint rate weaker than Tuesday's closing market rate, which had already fallen sharply after China devalued its currency by nearly 2 percent in a surprise move.
    The central bank had billed Tuesday's change as a free-market reform but experts suspect it could be the beginning of a longer-term slide in the exchange rate aimed at making China's ailing exports more competitive.
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