SOUTH Australia has found itself lagging behind other Australian states in the fight to attract business to within its borders.
A report by a state government officer warns that racist attitudes and unprofessional behaviour by the state government has badly hit the region's chances of attracting entrepreneurs from Hong Kong.
Adelaide is not the most high-profile city in Australia; nor is South Australia the most high-profile state.
Hong Kong entrepreneurs and immigrants have so far preferred to invest in other states.
An inter-province deal with China's Shandong, forged in 1986 when the two signed a friendly-relations agreement, has yielded virtually no extra trade. The state has just one employee lobbying in Hong Kong.
Ventures have collapsed and companies - including Standard Chartered Bank, one of Hong Kong's two note-issuing banks - have pulled out.