New Hong Kong report useful but investors will do their own research, experts say
first business report in four years can offer investors some reference but may not be enough to sway those holding preconceived views about the city due to geopolitical tensions, commerce chamber chiefs and economists have said.
Industry leaders and experts offered their views hours after Financial Secretary
Paul Chan Mo-po unveiled the
102-page report , titled 'Unique Strengths under 'One Country, Two Systems'', on Wednesday.
The document aims to show the world that Hong Kong has been picking up in recent years with the restoration of social stability. Chan said that the report was significant in that it would help dispel misconceptions in the West about Hong Kong's situation.
Gan Khai Choon, chairman mentor of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Macau, said that investment from the country and other Asean jurisdictions would continue to flow into the city regardless of the report's release.
'These investors will rely on their own research and the views they get from their contacts in Hong Kong,' said Gan, who is also the managing director of investment firm Hong Leong International (HK).
Gan Khai Choon says investment will continue to flow into Hong Kong from Malaysia anyway. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Basil Hwang, vice-chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said the report was 'one tool among many' that the city could deploy to engage international businesses and that it was helpful in summarising Hong Kong's advantages.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How Singapore's economic architect Goh Keng Swee shaped its state-linked giants
The First Fools: B-Sides of Lee Kuan Yew's A-Team is a new anthology about Singapore's founding leaders. In this excerpt, author Aaron Low spotlights Goh Keng Swee – widely remembered as Singapore's first finance minister and economic architect – whose lesser-known role as one of the country's most influential businessmen saw him create a network of state-linked firms that helped define Brand Singapore. Advertisement Entrepreneurs start businesses for many reasons. Some do it because of the firm belief that they can change the world around them, like Jeff Bezos, who foresaw how the internet would transform the way people bought books. Others are problem solvers such as Jack Ma, who created Alibaba to empower small Chinese firms and compete in the new digital economy. Then there are those like Microsoft's Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who turn their expertise into ventures and look to profit from their innate skills. But Goh was different. He believed in business as a means to an end, one that was for the greater good. Influenced by Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, Goh endorsed the idea that the invisible hand of business can produce goods and services efficiently, create jobs, and benefit the economy as a whole. But to do so, capitalism had to be tempered and guided wisely to avoid its excesses. There was another, more pressing, motivation: a deep desire to sustain Singapore's fragile independence and keep the idea of a nation alive. His form of capitalism, as his former protégé and top civil servant Philip Yeo said, was tinged with a large dose of socialism. Goh Keng Swee in 1948. He would go on to become Singapore's first finance minister and later the country's deputy prime minister. Photo: Handout 'He runs the company efficiently and properly, borrows money and hires people. He is no different from a businessman. But the key difference is that Dr Goh is a state capitalist. The businessman makes profit for himself; Dr Goh did it for the public good,' said Yeo.
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How Singapore's economic architect Goh Keng Swee shaped its state-linked giants
The First Fools: B-Sides of Lee Kuan Yew's A-Team is a new anthology about Singapore's founding leaders. In this excerpt, author Aaron Low spotlights Goh Keng Swee – widely remembered as Singapore's first finance minister and economic architect – whose lesser-known role as one of the country's most influential businessmen saw him create a network of state-linked firms that helped define Brand Singapore. Advertisement Entrepreneurs start businesses for many reasons. Some do it because of the firm belief that they can change the world around them, like Jeff Bezos, who foresaw how the internet would transform the way people bought books. Others are problem solvers such as Jack Ma, who created Alibaba to empower small Chinese firms and compete in the new digital economy. Then there are those like Microsoft's Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who turn their expertise into ventures and look to profit from their innate skills. But Goh was different. He believed in business as a means to an end, one that was for the greater good. Influenced by Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, Goh endorsed the idea that the invisible hand of business can produce goods and services efficiently, create jobs, and benefit the economy as a whole. But to do so, capitalism had to be tempered and guided wisely to avoid its excesses. There was another, more pressing, motivation: a deep desire to sustain Singapore's fragile independence and keep the idea of a nation alive. His form of capitalism, as his former protégé and top civil servant Philip Yeo said, was tinged with a large dose of socialism. Goh Keng Swee in 1948. He would go on to become Singapore's first finance minister and later the country's deputy prime minister. Photo: Handout 'He runs the company efficiently and properly, borrows money and hires people. He is no different from a businessman. But the key difference is that Dr Goh is a state capitalist. The businessman makes profit for himself; Dr Goh did it for the public good,' said Yeo.
South China Morning Post
12 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
It's time to align Hong Kong's trading days with the mainland's
Money never sleeps in Hong Kong, except during some public holidays. The city is known for having many official days off. Often stock trading stops while other markets, including the one in mainland China, continue on their merry way of making money. In recent years, however, the city's stock exchange has been enhancing its services during traditional non-trading days. The next step, hopefully, will be to align holiday trading on Stock Connect with the mainland. Hong Kong's stock market is already dominated by Chinese companies, which account for around 80 per cent of its capitalisation. Since 2022, a large number of futures and options can be traded during holidays. Currency futures and options were included in March last year. The Hong Kong exchange has also moved to enhance the trading calendar for the Stock Connect programme, on both the northbound and southbound routes, to allow investors to trade on all days when both the mainland and Hong Kong markets are open. The Stock Connect, which links stock trading in Hong Kong with Shanghai and Shenzhen, enables a cross-border, two-way investing flow. It has offered more opportunities in Hong Kong for mainland investors and easier mainland access for international investors. Last year, the northbound and southbound average daily turnover was 150 billion yuan (US$20.7 billion) and HK$48.2 billion (US$6.2 billion), respectively, accounting for around 6 per cent and 18 per cent of the total turnover of the mainland and Hong Kong markets. The path forward is clear. More local holidays, though not all, can be open for trading. Christian holidays such as Easter and Christmas can be included since they are normal working days on the mainland. Additional trading days on the calendar can ease market disruptions caused by a mismatch in holidays, which has frustrated fund managers on both sides of the border.
