Key role in Pearl River Delta will ensure Hong Kong’s future, researcher says
Talk of city's diminishing status against Asian rivals is overdone, says researcher, who sees bright future for 'brain' of Pearl River region
That Hong Kong is losing ground against regional rivals Shanghai, Singapore and even Seoul is a given among some business leaders and politicians, who are quick to blame the city's declining competitiveness and its whingeing youth.
They can stop worrying for now, as Hong Kong is a leader in Asia and will remain so for many years to come, Greg Clark, the author of a study of global metropolises, said.
[Hong Kong can lead] an innovation economy that has a big geography to it
The city has all the key ingredients for success, including an entrepreneurial workforce and a strong education system, and just needs to be confident and stay relevant in a rapidly developing Asian economy, said Clark, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a US think tank. "Overall, Hong Kong is not dying," he said.
Already the financial capital for China, Hong Kong should embrace its location at the bottom tip of the Pearl River Delta, "one of the most regionally competitive places in the world" and home to about 100 million people, Clark said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the JP Morgan-Asia Society "One Step Ahead" series of seminars on global competitiveness, Clark predicted 10 to 15 successful world cities will develop in Asia over the coming decades, each with its own slice of an ever-growing pie.
Regional integration is just the beginning, and "so long as Hong Kong remains the brain of the PRD, Hong Kong will survive", he said. "Hong Kong should see itself as leading an innovation economy that has a big geography to it," Clark said.
"It's not just about making one science park work. It's about having an innovation system for the PRD where Hong Kong plays a leading role in providing the venture capital, the intellectual property, some of the research and development."