As Greater Bay Area develops, Hong Kong will need to differentiate itself, panellists say
- Common law, tax structure among strengths that will set the city apart in the future
- Integrating Hong Kong into regional economy could change the city
As Beijing moves to better integrate regional economies as part of its Greater Bay Area initiative, Hong Kong will need to retain what makes it special, panellists said at a trade conference sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on Monday.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Council American Chambers of Commerce’s Business Summit in Hong Kong, Lennard Yong, group chief executive of Tricor Group, said that Hong Kong should not completely synchronise with other parts of the Greater Bay Area, a 56,000 square-kilometre area that includes Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong.
The city will need to retain its strengths, ranging from its tax structure to common law, to set itself apart and help further growth in the region in the coming years, Yong said.
He said that Hong Kong could play a similar role to companies of the Greater Bay Area as the islands of Guernsey and Jersey do to businesses in the United Kingdom and Bermuda and the Cayman Islands play to firms in the United States.
“You need the differentiation to actually drive the Greater Bay,” Yong said. The diversity “brings out the best” in the region, he said.
Tricor Group helps companies relocate operations to Asia and Asian companies expand overseas.
