Macroscope | In a global financial centre like Hong Kong, it should take no more than 20 minutes to get to a business meeting

Face-to-face meetings are essential for elite financiers and a global survey strongly suggests travel time should be no more than a 15- to 20-minute walk or taxi ride

Hong Kong must focus more on office intensification to develop the proximity that business leaders in finance and professional services require

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A view of office buildings from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade in Kowloon on February 28. In the world’s leading global financial centres, the vast majority of offices which house financiers and professional services are highly agglomerated. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 3:45pm, 11 Apr 2023

The dynamism of Hong Kong as a global financial centre is palpable. I witnessed this on a trip to Hong Kong late last month when I gave talks on Beijing’s support for Hong Kong and met prominent businessmen. I was not surprised. For over 30 years, I have studied and published on Hong Kong’s status as the leading financial centre of the Asia-Pacific.

China’s economic recovery bodes well for another round of growth for Hong Kong’s financial sector. In addition, Beijing’s restructuring of the reporting relationships of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office underscores its support for Hong Kong.

The new structure centralises decision-making at the top level of government and streamlines reporting lines. This enables Beijing to respond rapidly and effectively to external threats to Hong Kong.

Foreign financial firms will continue to expand in Hong Kong, and those who left will regret it. Increasingly, mainland financial firms are establishing their global operations in Hong Kong, even as they maintain their corporate headquarters on the mainland. Likewise, mainland non-financial firms will continue to shift global operations to the city.

This growth will stimulate the greater expansion of professional advisory firms in law, accounting and management consulting. The result: growing demand for high-end office space.

Companies in the financial and professional services sectors spend an extensive amount of time on face-to-face meetings. These are essential to exchange sophisticated, confidential knowledge and to engage in complex negotiations.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Macroscope | In a global financial centre like Hong Kong, it should take no more than 20 minutes to get to a business meeting

Macroscope | In a global financial centre like Hong Kong, it should take no more than 20 minutes to get to a business meeting