I refer to the letter by Aloysius Hon-bon Ng headlined 'Stop wasting money on the mainland' (South China Morning Post, January 4).
Mr Ng would like Hong Kong people to spend their money here, rather than over the border. I suppose he would carry this philosophy to other nationalities, suggesting that, say, Japanese and Taiwanese tourists should no longer come to Hong Kong, but spend their money in their respective home countries.
As Mr Ng said, Hong Kong people go to the mainland, because it is cheaper. This is because the mainland has lower costs.
Major costs faced by businessmen in the SAR are high rents or mortgages. As long as these remain the highest in the world we will have to also offer high salaries. This all adds up to high costs and prices.
Therefore, as long as we remain uncompetitive you will see people going to cheaper places. The only way we can become more competitive is by lowering our costs, in particular, property costs.
JEFFRY KUPERUS
