Hong Kong businessmen lack the hunger to conquer the world, blasts leading entrepreneur
Businessmen urged to look beyond the city, and the city itself should join forces with Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macau to create a regional economy
Q: What is the one thing you want to change about Hong Kong?
A: Our businessmen need to have a global vision
Hong Kong companies lack the hunger that it takes to conquer the world, says a leading entrepreneur.
The lack of ambition is all the more disappointing when many have proved themselves a force to be reckoned with in the city. Beyond that, they seem to lack the wherewithal to go global, claims Dr Roy Chung Chi-ping, industrialist and an honorary president of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.
"Hong Kong's main competitive edge lies with its role as an international financial centre … and a financial centre would have a tremendous effect if it is also the place where successful businessmen pursue global development," he says.
Both the authorities and the business sector must take a long, hard look at themselves if Hong Kong wants to remain a global city with links to all corners of the world rather than make a gradual retreat, to become just another Chinese city.
Chung is candid as he makes a stark comparison: mainland companies are far more eager to build a global profile than their Hong Kong counterparts. They want to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange and then make a play for the wider world, while Hong Kong companies are restricting their focus to the city and the mainland.