Hong Kong should look beyond East and West, go to Middle East ‘if there is money to be made’, Hang Lung chief says
- If there is money to be made, there is no reason ‘not to go’ to the Middle East, the billionaire says after results briefing
- Hang Lung Properties says underlying net profit attributable to shareholders declined by 4 per cent for the year ended December 31
The city would “miss the boat” if it continues to just do what it has done for the past 20 to 50 years. “Globalisation is – for this round – coming to an end. Deglobalisation is happening,” he said.
“It won’t be a total decoupling. But nonetheless, there’ll be some decoupling. In which case, Hong Kong as an entrepot for the last hundreds of years, will have to re-examine our position in the global economy.
“But if one were to refuse to change, if one were to continue just to do what we used to do for the last 20 to 50 years, you may miss the boat. You may miss the opportunity. And, in fact, you may be left behind by the evolving events of the day.
05:03
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Chan was speaking during a briefing on the Hong Kong developer’s annual results. Hang Lung’s underlying net profit attributable to shareholders declined by 4 per cent to HK$4.2 billion (US$535.71 million) for the year ended December 31, amid a higher net gearing ratio and net debt, according to its exchange filing on Tuesday. The board recommended a final dividend of 60 HK cents per share, same as the previous year.
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Chan’s remarks come as Hong Kong pursues business opportunities in the Middle East as part of an “aggressive” drive to promote itself to the rest of the world. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po visited the region in October last year to discuss bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
“Hong Kong has been a great beneficiary of globalisation. If there is some amount of reversal of that, then I think Hong Kong’s role will have to be modified,” said Chan, who is also non-governmental organisation Asia Society’s chair emeritus. “It will not go away, but we have to modify the way we play in the global economy in order to win.”
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The city has been in the cross hairs of the US-China trade war since 2018. The West will in the future “lump Hong Kong with mainland China”, Chan said, adding that this was “not factual”.
“So I think Hong Kong has to face that reality – that we will be treated as if we are just like China. Which, of course, for anybody who knows anything about China, is not true” under the one country, two systems principle.
Chan said he would not rule out the possibility of a secondary listing by petroleum giant Saudi Aramco in Hong Kong. “Hong Kong has good connections in the [Middle East] region,” he said. “Hong Kong has the conditions. What’s more, [governments in the region are] very interested in China as a large economy.”
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The city has, in fact, been exploring the possibility of listings by Middle Eastern companies, Paul Chan told the Post in mid-January.
“As far as Hong Kong’s future is concerned … a lot of things have changed in recent years,” Hang Lung’s Chan said. “Like it or not, Hong Kong has to prepare for it.”
