INTRODUCTION Businesses are scrambling to take up new opportunities in the vast Chinese market
Winds of change blow through the glittering towers

he shimmering modern glass office towers, densely packed high-rise housing and the cleanliness and efficiency of the amazing public transport system are the outward display of Hong Kong’s economic power. As a generator of wealth and trade, this former British colony still has no equal in the region.

International brand recognition is part of many business strategies

Now a Special Administrative Region of China with its own government, Hong Kong is adjusting to its new status and forging ahead in the creation of a new identity. With little room for expansion and a small local market, Hong Kong businesses are now scrambling to take a share of the huge market of China.
Hong Kong developed and expanded as a trading and financial centre during its years as a British colony. The rules and regulations, the infrastructure and the collective expertise have not disappeared, and businesses exercise considerable influence in any dealings with China as many of them are already well-established on the mainland.

Peter Wong, group managing director of Tai Fook Securities, says brand recognition is essential to the company’s plans

But Hong Kong must change its outlook, as its manufacturing base dwindles in the face of cheaper alternatives in China. Its future is going to rest increasingly on services, particularly in finance and trade, as well as tourism.
International brand name recognition is part of many Hong Kong business strategies, and for Peter Wong, group managing director of Tai Fook Securities, it is paramount in his firm’s plans. “We have done a lot of brand-name building to position ourselves in Hong Kong,” he says. “We spend a lot of money promoting the brand.”
And like so many other Hong Kong firms, Tai Fook has established itself in China. Listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, it began trading shares in the Beijing stock market in 1993 and Shanghai in 1995.

Hong Kong flourished as a trading centre during its years as a British colony

“China is emerging as a major commercial centre. We have opened not only an office in Shanghai but an investment consultancy company as well,” says Mr Wong. “All the signals are that the market will open up in China. The Chinese government will need to accumulate more foreign exchange reserves in order to be able to give full convertibility to its currency. We see this occurring in about five years.”
Hong Kong is still an exciting place to visit and the authorities are keen to ensure a steady stream of tourists to keep the foreign exchange rolling in. Selina Chow, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, says: “What we have found is that tourists are coming here to see the fusion of East and West. Hong Kong is the most cosmopolitan city in Asia, along with Singapore.
“One of the great things about Hong Kong, due to the fact that we were a British colony for over 150 years, is the layer-upon-layer of experience. The complexity of Hong Kong is not so much due to the infrastructure but to its people,” he adds.

Services continue to be a growth area for British companies operating here. Christopher Hammerbeck, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, says it is home to more than 1,000 British firms, employing a tenth of the workforce. The greatest area of growth is in accountancy firms, although British banks, insurance firms and financial service companies are also well entrenched, he adds.
“I would say that Hong Kong has become a large sourcing location for many major com-panies,” says Mr Hammerbeck. “They are here because they work with all the companies that are manufacturing in China, but use Hong Kong to make their products sexier, more original and marketable. Hong Kong’s great strength is that it is the place that makes things happen.”