Letters | Play to Hong Kong’s strengths, don’t ask it to be something it is not
- Hong Kong’s attraction lies in its laws, currency and position as an international financial centre
- Trying to turn the city into a hi-tech hub for the Greater Bay Area is misguided
More serious, in my estimation, is the slow but sustained exodus of the institutions in the financial services sector to other financial centres in the Asian region. Why is all this happening, and now seemingly gathering pace?
First, a little more history. Incredible growth was fostered by Hong Kong for itself and for China between 1967 and up to a few years ago, as Hong Kong developed into a entrepreneurial and financial services centre extraordinaire. We were, up until recently, the go-to place to establish such activities, for initial public offerings and other services.
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Henry Tang recalls how Hong Kong entrepreneurs became the first investors in an economic reform that changed China
Now there is an unexplained push to turn Hong Kong into something it isn’t, namely a part of the South China Greater Bay Area’s hi-tech hub. Why is this being pushed? Of course, Hong Kong is floundering in the face of such a demand. This thinking has the flavor of a quip often attributed to Einstein: “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”.