Opposition parties could be pushed to embrace extreme viewpoints under the current political system, which gives them no chance to share power, executive councillor Henry Fan Fung-ling said.
'Political parties have to fully voice their opposition during elections to win recognition from voters,' said Mr Fan, who is the managing director of Citic Pacific and deputy chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways.
'If they know that they will never have the chance to rule, they could voice their opposition to the extreme,' he told a seminar on Hong Kong's economic outlook from this year to 2012.
He said their actions would be different if they had the opportunity to govern.
Seminar moderator Duffy Wong asked for Mr Fan's opinion about the erosion of Hong Kong's position as a business hub with a predictable regulatory system and stable returns.
'Whenever it's relating to the business sector, [people say] it's collusion between the government and business,' Mr Fan said.