US businesses remain committed to Hong Kong, says AmCham chairman
But he warned that “any deviation” from key values such as the rule of law and freedom of speech would “concern" the business community.
The US business community remained 'bullish' on Hong Kong and had not lost faith in doing business here after the 79-day Occupy movement, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce said.
Peter Levesque said US companies would stay in Hong Kong as long as the fundamental pillars of society, such as rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and an independent judiciary were protected.
He warned that "any deviation" from these would cause "concern to the international business community".
"The American chamber and the companies that are in the American chambers … are very bullish on Hong Kong," he said at a luncheon yesterday. "We understand the Occupy issue. [It] is a political issue.
"Having said that, Occupy did raise issues with businesses here. We're glad that Occupy is over but we also think that this is a time when we need to raise the level of dialogues and constructive discussions," he added.
Levesque said that while Hong Kong's competitiveness was not declining, the city needed to maintain it.
"[The government] does have a vision for the future but sometimes you get stuck in the day-to-day activities. It's very difficult to separate yourself to have a broader look at where it is that you're going," he said.