Business leaders say Hong Kong must act quicker in face of change

Saturday, 17 August, 2013, 1:38pm

Jeanny Yu and Ray Chan

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Business leaders say Hong Kong must act quicker in face of change. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong's role as the gateway to and from the mainland could be at risk unless the city becomes more socially inclusive and acts more decisively to capitalise on shifting business trends.

"The way things are shaping up in Hong Kong I think it is going to be a very difficult time ahead," Vincent Lo Hong-shui, chairman of Shui On Land, told an audience of business leaders assembled by the South China Morning Post as part of its 'Redefining Hong Kong' seminar series.

Lo said Hong Kong should do better at spotting the business opportunity presented by mainland tourists who come to spend in the city, rather than make them feel unwelcome.

"Why do we want to chase our Chinese customers away from Hong Kong? Why would we want to do that? I just don't understand it," Lo said.

Lo, the man behind Shanghai's famous Xintiandi entertainment development, said looming capacity constraints at Hong Kong's airport and a lack of "joined up" thinking about shopping potential around the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge project meant opportunities would be missed to sell to the growing number of mainland tourists coming to Hong Kong.

"I'm sure there are many ways that we can add facilities to attract these people that are actually going to help our economy."

Lo's sentiments were echoed by Albert Ng, Greater China managing partner at Ernst & Young.

"Hong Kong needs to get better at social inclusion," Ng said.

John Slosar, Cathay Pacific chief executive, said Hong Kong's historic strength in connecting international banking, trade, logistics and tourism would help ensure a profitable future - but only with hard work. "The world is changing and we have to change with it," Slosar said.

Professor Chan Ka-keung, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said Hong Kong's status as a gateway had changed throughout history and that such change must continue to be embraced. "We should not be afraid of China's opening up, or of competition from Chinese cities - or any city," he said.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as HK must act quicker, says business

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This article is now closed to comments

jpinst Aug 17th 2013
8:22pm

I will tell yuu the solution in just a few senteces.
Take all measures possible to decrease speculation and investment in properyty and bring prices down. Lower property and land prices will make it more affoerdable to operate a business in Hk. High Tech manufacturing can actually take palce in Hong Kong if the government stops steering it all toward the mainland. of course the government will have to diversify its tax base. Best to focus on getting something from almost evrybody and taxing capital gains on property sales, which will also help with the price issue. As long as HK has the highest property prices in the world, it can never be competitive on any level.

maecheung Aug 17th 2013
9:22pm

Very well said! Add Capital property tax as well for people/business/corporations owning more than 2 flats.

henleyhk Aug 17th 2013
7:39pm

It is not surprising that business should talk in terms of opportunity for profit, but what about quality of life and quality of our environment? HK people want more of those, too. HK is already a very rich city financially, but our quality of life sucks. We need better education and better housing to name but two; but we cannot have this debate while the corrupt and unaccountable administration is beholden to the city's plutocrats and oligarchs, as well as our oppressors in BJ, who have a very different agenda for HK.
It has become very noticeable in recent years how HK has become stultified, introverted and self-absorbed as it struggles to come to terms with its identity as a SAR instead of a colony, while places like Singapore (to name but one) have become dynamic, vibrant, outward-looking societies.
It seems to me that the Basic Law has not given HK the institutions and political/constitutional machinery to compete with its once-inferior neighbours in the region. I guess the PRC is afraid of what freedoms HK people have and would prefer to see HK kept in its place, while its prosperity/ascendancy are exported to Shanghai and other parts of the mainland.

chuchu59 Aug 17th 2013
5:55pm

Stating the obvious aint it? All businessmen know they must act quickly in face of change. The problem is how to do it.

webbocybase Aug 17th 2013
3:14pm

I agree with many of the comments posted so far. Just cramming in more Chinese visitors to spend money on leather goods made in Europe is not the most efficient way to get wealth flowing through the economy for the benefit of all Hongkongers. Tourism should continue to be important of course, but HK must also continue moving up the value chain into high-productivity sectors where it has a comparative advantage because making money through the transhipment of goods made in China or being the "back office" for Chinese factories won't sustain it for ever. HK really prospered for 150 years because it was a way in to a closed China, and a route out for people leaving China, but now that China is becoming increasingly open to the rest of the world HK needs to have a rethink.
Being in the middle of the most economically dynamic part of the world is a great opportunity, but it must be exploited, and that will mean realising that there are important countries in Asia other than China that HK can serve and do business with. I'm exaggerating of course, as HK does do a lot of intra-regional business, but people are tending to focus too much on its relationship with China. "Asia's World City" sounds snappy as a brand, but HK has got to walk the walk as well as talk the talk!

jpinst Aug 17th 2013
8:25pm

The real question is what will HK do when China collapses? I know too many believe in the magic of the CCP and their genius at defying all economic laws and theories....but it can, and probably will happen in the next decade. What will Hong Kong do then, with all its eggs in one basket?

Another Social ... Aug 17th 2013
3:09pm

Central China Government should Act Quicker to Dismiss that 'CY' & Its Related Group...
Mrs. Lam Cheng, Mr. Tsang C.W., Mrs. Fan...Many can be Replaced for Position of 'CE'...
Before that 'CY' & Its Related Group continues its Damage of HK's Reputation, & its Actual
Developments...
Tactics to handle that 'CY' & Its Related Group resembles BoXiLai's Incident, cause that 'CY' had clearly manifested its Reluctance to step-down Voluntarily...
IMMEDIATE DISMISSAL of that 'CY' & Its Related Group...ACT QUICKER...
ACT QUICKER>>ACT QUICKER>>>ACT QUICKER>>>

josephyang Aug 17th 2013
4:48pm

Bad English, bad formatting, and even worse sense.
IF you look at the problems in Hong Kong, a lot of them have been formed by the combination of Mrs. Lam Cheng, Mr. Tsang C.W. and Mrs. Fan, as part of the corrupt Donald Tsang regime, including Mr. Henry Tang.

Carparklee Aug 17th 2013
2:29pm

Generally speaking, most Hong Kong people are peace loving and friendly people that we normally give good hospitality towards visitors. We have no doubt about the significance and importance of tourism industry boom due to Cepa to the Hong Kong economy. Jobless rate dropped and properties prices recovered from trough of SARS era that general market sentiment and territory's financial status improved within a short period of time. Employment improved in particular. As the no. of tourists from the mainland continues to grow at an incredible speed, infrastructure may start running tight. Problems arising from overcrowded spots happens more frequently (among tourists and among locals). While the commercial sector continues to praise the economic benefit from the tourism, residents start asking if the benefit is heavily inclining towards one or two sectors only i.e. they are enjoying the benefit with the externality, paid by general public suffering from over crowded streets, deteriorating hygiene in busy spots, losing choices of day-to-day supplies such as variety of restaurant, traditional grocery store and boutique giving way to luxury brands showrooms and dispensary (selling medicine and milk powder formulation). General public may ask if it is fair? Business sector should not be taking everything for granted. Contribute back to the general public in a way that the public knows their being cooperative or helpful is well recognized! How to link that with retail GDP?

@madams Aug 17th 2013
1:36pm

vincent doesn't live in the same hong kong as 99.9% of residents. his hong kong is more akin to a social club where patrons come to buy goods and services, and the club has a minimum spend level for inclusion. he can see no humanity and little other than customers. i presume his call for inclusiveness does not include poor mainlanders or south asians.
HK residents do not have any animus for mainlanders, it is just a question of volume of visitors, and the impact this has on limited public goods that vincent lo doesn't use like trains, buses, schools and public hospitals.