Hong Kong business leaders voice confidence in economic rebound, city’s place as ‘financial centre’ of Asia following ‘legitimate uncertainty’
- Top regional executive from HSBC points to ‘very strong rebound’ after ‘legitimate uncertainty’ over city’s role in the world
- Business leaders strike upbeat tone alongside No 2 official Eric Chan at British Chamber of Commerce event a day after chief executive unveiled policy address
Hong Kong business leaders have expressed confidence that the economy is rebounding, with one saying the city has retained its place as the “financial centre for Asia”, a day after the chief executive unveiled his policy blueprint.
Top regional executives from banking giants HSBC and Standard Chartered made the remarks on Thursday during a panel discussion at the British Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong Summit, which gathered officials and business leaders to discuss the city’s post-pandemic recovery.
“If you think back 10 months ago in January, there was real legitimate uncertainty about the continued relevance of Hong Kong in the world, and I think we’ve seen a very strong rebound since then,” said Omar Malik, HSBC’s chief financial officer for Hong Kong and Macau.
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Despite concerns over the city’s sluggish stock market, Malik noted that its US$4 trillion market capitalisation remained on par with London’s and seven times greater than Singapore’s.
He highlighted the opportunities emerging from Hong Kong’s planned Northern Metropolis development and singled out the growth in digital assets as an area in which the city was “building on its core strengths”.
The Northern Metropolis aims to establish an international innovation and technology hub and produce 900,000 flats for 2.5 million people.
“Hong Kong is absolutely still the financial centre for Asia,” Malik said.
His remarks came a day after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address in which he unveiled a raft of measures to boost the city’s sluggish economy that has struggled to pick up despite reopening following the pandemic.
Against the backdrop of a sluggish stock market, Lee restored stamp duty on securities transactions to the 2021 level at 0.1 per cent of the value of the trade for both buyer and seller, down from 0.13 per cent.
He also devoted a major part of his speech to Hong Kong’s integration into and collaboration within the Greater Bay Area, vowing to intensify efforts to address a shortage of talent and encourage more overseas companies to set up headquarters in the city.
The bay area refers to Beijing’s plan to unite 11 southern Chinese cities, including Hong Kong, to create an economic powerhouse.
Hong Kong lost 210,000 workers between 2019 and 2022, a period that saw months-long protests grip the city, the introduction of the national security law and strict social-distancing rules to combat the pandemic.
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A survey by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in April also found that 74 per cent of city companies struggled with labour shortages.
Delivering a keynote speech at Thursday’s event, No 2 official Eric Chan Kwok-Ki reiterated key points from the recent policy blueprint and highlighted new efforts to tap markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
“While Hong Kong has faced some difficult times in the past few years, we’re now back to normal, back to business, to embrace new markets and new business partnerships,” Chan said.
“We are of course even looking to boost connections with our long-standing overseas partners, and that very much includes the United Kingdom.”
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Speaking on the same panel as Malik was Anthony Lin, CEO of Standard Chartered in the bay area, who cited the city’s latest gross domestic product figures and a recent business confidence survey as signs it was “progressing in the right direction”.
While growth slowed to 1.5 per cent in the second quarter over the same period in 2022, Hong Kong’s economy is expected to expand by 4 to 5 per cent year on year for 2023, according to the latest government forecast. The economy shrunk by 3.5 per cent last year.
A quarterly bay area survey conducted by Standard Chartered and the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council also pointed to improvements. According to its index, business confidence jumped from 52.9 in the third quarter, up from 41.1 in the same period last year.
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“There is no reason we shouldn’t be confident about the future of Hong Kong,” Lin said.
Speaking alongside the financial services industry figures on the panel were law firm Eversheds Sutherland’s Asia chair Stephen Kitts and Lilian Ng, managing director for insurance firm Prudential’s strategic business group.
Kitts reiterated long-standing calls from the business community to step up efforts to bring people into the city to see its recovery for themselves.
“It is important to get people here so they see what Hong Kong is like,” he said. “When you actually get here and see Hong Kong in action, it’s really quite inspiring.”
