A Breath Away...

Everyone growing up in Hong Kong will remember one thing our teachers taught us about our city – “Hong Kong is an international financial center.” Although they never actually told us why, we later learned that we have the one of the world’s largest stock markets, and that our city is a preferred destination for foreign investment and regional headquarters.

But somewhere down the line, it suddenly dawned on us that this might not be true anymore. And it’s not a result of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. No, the problem is our air – recently, international reports about Hong Kong have repeatedly raised the same concern:

Our air is so bad that it is affecting our competitiveness as an major financial center. Not only that, we are also constantly (and annoyingly) being compared to Singapore, which does indeed have better air.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a statement in October last year after its annual inspection of the city, saying “concerns were raised over the adverse impact of increased pollution on competitiveness, especially reflected in difficulties faced in attracting and retaining high-skilled workers.”

As if an IMF warning is not serious enough, investment bank giant Merrill Lynch has chipped in – they cut the share ratings of three property developers, Hongkong Land, Hysan Development and Great Eagle, in November. These three companies own major office properties in Hong Kong. Hysan, most famous for its Lee Gardens complex in Causeway Bay, received the hardest blow – they were downgraded from “buy” to “sell.” “The air quality in Hong Kong is now regularly so poor that the long-term competitiveness of this city is, in our minds, in some doubt,” wrote analyst Spencer White in his report to his clients.

And it’s not like we don’t know the world is aware of our bad air. Just look at the cover picture of Lonely Planet’s 2003 Hong Kong & Macau guide, which featured the Central skyline peeking through a cloud of smog.