Silver lining in ageing society
Ageing has a bad reputation. Many people think it's a burden. Societies see it as a generational challenge. Officials constantly chart statistics that warn against the perils of an ageing population.
Ageing has a bad reputation. Many people think it's a burden. Societies see it as a generational challenge. Officials constantly chart statistics that warn against the perils of an ageing population. This newspaper held a well-attended forum titled "The age crisis" this month in which experts presented convincing arguments about the threats to productivity and growth. But someone from the audience wisely pointed out how the grey dollar or the silver economy could also present great economic opportunities. The tenor of the forum changed thereafter from one of doom and gloom to opportunity.
If we simply look at the figures and estimates, the predictions are certainly dire. With an ageing population, the number of Hong Kong people over 65 is predicted to rise from one million to 2.6 million by 2041. Our demographics are taxing the city's health and social services in challenging ways. Reforms are urgently needed for retirement savings, health care services and care for the elderly.
In this, we are following world trends. By United Nations estimates, the number of people worldwide aged 60 or older will double to more than two billion by 2050. For the first time in history, those aged above 65 will outnumber children under the age of five.
But where governments see problems, the private sector, rightly, sees opportunities. An estimate by forecasts the spending power of the "baby boomer" generation to hit US$15 trillion.
Globally, the drug and health care industries, financial services, information technology and carmakers are preparing for a new wave of older paying customers with new services, drugs and technologies. In Japan, adult diapers now outsell baby diapers.
Just as the Hong Kong government must prepare for an ageing population, our private sector must follow suit to exploit the opportunities that will avail themselves to contribute to the city's future economic growth.
