https://www.scmp.com/rss/266748/feed Joe Ngai is the chairman of McKinsey & Company’s Greater China region. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Joe Ngai Joe Ngai Hong Kong’s economic growth and resilience over the past two decades should serve as a source of pride. Real gross domestic product has grown at close to 3 per cent year on year over the past two decades, a robust figure for a developed services-based economy. But far more impressive is the way Hong Kong has rebounded rapidly and emerged even stronger after each crisis it has faced, whether it was the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic of 2003, the global financial crisis of 2008, or the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3313957/how-hong-kong-can-shake-stagnant-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3313957/how-hong-kong-can-shake-stagnant-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Jun 2025 21:30:08 +0000 As we approach 2025, China stands on the brink of a series of transformations. Geopolitical volatility and rising tariffs are forcing the rapid realignment of global trade corridors, fierce domestic competition is reshaping industries, and innovations powered by artificial intelligence (AI) are bringing fundamental changes to day-to-day life. These are just a few of the seismic shifts in business and life we are witnessing in China today. Here are 10 trends worth watching in China in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3290738/10-trends-watch-2025-rapidly-transforming-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3290738/10-trends-watch-2025-rapidly-transforming-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Dec 2024 21:30:07 +0000 Asian philanthropy is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by rapid growth and increasing influence on the global stage. Asia, home to 60 per cent of the world’s population, 35 per cent of the global economy and 33 per cent of ultra-high-net-worth wealth, is experiencing a surge in formalised, institutional philanthropy. According to Altrata’s latest report, philanthropic giving by ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Asia is set to reach US$33 billion, highlighting the region’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3281642/how-trust-redefining-philanthropy-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3281642/how-trust-redefining-philanthropy-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Oct 2024 06:30:09 +0000 As China’s economy continues to grow at around 5 per cent – after 5.2 per cent last year – and contribute to almost one-third of global growth, it is increasingly clear there is no substitute for the scale of this market. When I wrote early last year that “the next China is still China”, I could have followed that up with, “but succeeding will be more difficult than before”. Capital markets seem to agree. Despite a recent rally, Chinese indices have been hovering at levels reached a decade ago,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3265781/5-critical-shifts-chinese-firms-need-make-be-successful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3265781/5-critical-shifts-chinese-firms-need-make-be-successful?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2024 08:30:09 +0000 China is wrestling with a severe demographic challenge. The National Health Commission expects that by 2025, over 20 per cent of citizens will be over 60, the biggest aged population globally. This, paired with a birth rate that hit a record low of 6.77 per thousand people in 2022, portends a stark 1:1 worker-to-retiree ratio by 2050 compared to 2.26:1 today. The government has not been standing still. In 2016, it abolished the one-child policy and allowed families to have a second child. In... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242142/chinas-workforce-paradox-and-how-solve-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242142/chinas-workforce-paradox-and-how-solve-it?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:17:14 +0000 Not a day seems to go by without a headline detailing the challenges facing the Chinese economy. For many executives, the mood is becoming increasingly sombre as they grapple with the country’s lagging economic performance. Data showing shrinking exports, declining real estate transactions and rising youth unemployment is difficult for many to get used to, in light of the extraordinary growth China has enjoyed over the past two decades. Between 1990 and 2019, China’s real gross domestic product... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3234329/chinas-changing-economy-mncs-must-ditch-mantra-going-big?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3234329/chinas-changing-economy-mncs-must-ditch-mantra-going-big?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Sep 2023 07:30:18 +0000 July 1 marks 25 years since the 1997 handover. It’s also the halfway point of our 50 years under the “one country, two systems” model of governance. What’s the path forward for our beloved city? Are Hong Kong’s glory days behind us, or do even better days lie ahead? One thing is certain: we are living in a very different context than that of 25 years ago. Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s was a critical entry point into China. We thrived as the middleman between Western markets and China’s vast... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182604/hong-kong-25-years-after-its-return-china-needs-new-narrative-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3182604/hong-kong-25-years-after-its-return-china-needs-new-narrative-not?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jun 2022 08:30:19 +0000 As Chinese companies brace themselves for the impact of the trade war with the US, a less widely publicised, but far more profound, set of challenges is threatening their survival in the next decade. Until recently, things were really good for Chinese companies: extraordinary macroeconomic growth, a raft of pro-business government policies and incentives, and the unleashing of decades of pent-up consumer demand among a newly confident middle class fuelled record revenues and profits. Fortune... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2163824/quality-counts-why-chinese-companies-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2163824/quality-counts-why-chinese-companies-need?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Sep 2018 05:00:45 +0000 Over the past decade and a half, I’ve advised many expatriate executives working for multinational companies in China. I have also advised Chinese executives working for local companies in the country. But increasingly, I am finding myself counselling foreign executives working for Chinese bosses at Chinese companies. Most of these are privately-held Chinese companies, often founded and operated by an entrepreneurial Chairman. One thing I’ve observed among the multinational executives that I’ve... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2122316/want-work-chinese-company-make-sure-you-understand-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2122316/want-work-chinese-company-make-sure-you-understand-first?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Nov 2017 10:00:14 +0000 On July 1, Hong Kong will mark the 20th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty. As we celebrate this special milestone, it’s worth reflecting on what we’ve achieved over the past two decades, and, more importantly, where we’re headed in the future. By almost any major measure of economic performance, Hong Kong is the envy of the world. In 2016, Hong Kong companies broke new records in revenues and profits. Unemployment hovers at an incredibly low 2.5 per cent. GDP continues to climb... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100423/hong-kongs-shot-prime-time-ours-lose-if-we-dont-grasp-moment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100423/hong-kongs-shot-prime-time-ours-lose-if-we-dont-grasp-moment?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jun 2017 11:23:16 +0000