With the Chinese mainland economy to remain robust, the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) enjoys direct benefits from
its sustained growth by acting as a business platform.
HKSAR Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Henry Tang
told Softworld 2002 Conference in Canada that Hong Kong SAR's
strategy of being a two-way platform for doing business with the
mainland has been recognized by many foreign companies wanting to
have a share of the pie, according to the HKSAR Government
Information Services Monday.
"Over 3,200 overseas businesses have set up their regional
headquarters and offices in Hong Kong, the recent ones include
Philips of the Netherlands -- the world electronics giant and
Checkpoint of Israel, which is the world leader in firewall
technology. These actions speak for themselves. Hong Kong is your
springboard," he said.
The Hong Kong SAR's economy is expected to be effectively revived
by forging an increasingly close relationship with the mainland
economy, said Economist Corporate Network in the Economist
magazine.
The network has estimated China's annual GDP for 2003 and 2004 to
be 7.9 percent and 8 percent, and 8.3 percent in the year 2006.
The Hong Kong-based Asia Business Council, a group of Asia's most
important business leaders commented that all its members are
fixing their eyes on the Chinese mainland.
The council's executive director Ruth Shapiro said, "All of our
members know they cannot run from China. So they are trying to
figure out where their opportunity lies within China."
Ronnie Chan, chairman of Hong Kong's Hang Lung Group remarked,
"They (the businessmen) know China is where the opportunity is.
Everybody recognizes they have no choice. China is very high on all
of our members' agenda."
Shapiro and Chan's view are echoed by the Economist forecast
that foreign direct investment to China will increase by 7.5
percent in 2003 and nudge up to about 8.4 percent in 2004.
The choice is clear, as China's competitiveness is indicated by low
inflation and high GDP rate, Lois Dougan Tretiak, vice president
and China director of Economist Corporate Network said.
Christopher Nailer, regional economist of the Economist Corporate
Network has called on companies planning to cut costs by closing
down factories in Asia amidst the world's recessive economy to keep
their production bases in China due to the cost-effectiveness
factor there.
"Even if you are considering closing your factories in Asia, you
would not close the China ones," he said.
China's labor force and its knowledge and skills are also becoming
more diversified and international in nature, providing better
support to foreign firms, Ronnie Chan said citing the increasing
trend of mainland students going abroad to study.
Connie Bolland, a Hong Kong-based regional economist for the
network said that Chinese mainland's economic performance remaining
strong is good news for the economy of the Hong Kong SAR.
Bolland professed that the current challenge for Hong Kong is to
evolve a complementary growth model whereby it can both lead and
gain from the Chinese mainland's growth drives, especially in South
China.
One way for the Hong Kong SAR to effectively benefit from China's
growth, according to Robin Bew, the UK-based chief economist of the
Economist Intelligence Unit, is to build up its transportation
network to offer better access to cross-border cargo to its
ports.
(Xinhua News
Agency September 10, 2002)