Economic bridge spans the globe
East Coast states have robust export trade with Hong Kong and draw investors, writes Ed Peters
As New York's fashionistas prepared to welcome the forthcoming season's new trends last month, one show from Hong Kong got everybody talking. Four Hong Kong fashion labels - Daydream Nation, Methodology, Placed by Gideon and Injury - paraded their collections for men and women on the runway at Pop 14, one of the most happening locations in the Big Apple.
The show proved to be a hit among buyers and industry insiders - who had converged on the city for New York Fashion Week for spring/summer 2016 - and was another indication of the flourishing cultural and commercial relations between Hong Kong and the eastern seaboard of the United States, in particular New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
All three states maintain a vigorous export trade. The latest figures show New Jersey shipping US$1.219 billion of goods to Hong Kong last year, principally computers and electronics, but with chemicals also making a strong showing.
New York headed the table, notching up US$10.78 billion, including US$2.9 billion worth of primary metal manufacturing products. Connecticut took third place with US$203 million, made up largely of computer hardware and metal products.
The figures highlight Hong Kong's appetite for American goods, as well as the city's role as the gateway to China. Hong Kong's domestic exports were naturally more modest, with official figures for 2014 showing a total of HK$4.47 billion of goods sent to the US as a whole.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong investors are keeping a careful eye on developments in the eastern US. Just this year, one of Hong Kong's major property conglomerates, Great Eagle Holdings, invested US$25 million in NeueHouse, which is based in New York and specialises in upmarket shared office space.
