Jul/Aug 2019 by The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

AmChamHK

7-8 â&#x20AC;¢ 2019

Members Directory

www.amcham.org.hk

AMCHAM Means Business

Over 500 pages in three major sections, including a complete guide to chamber services, corporate sponsors and AmCham Charitable Foundation. This directory lists about 1,350 members from about 660 companies and organizations. ISBN 978-988-8519-04-0 NON-MEMBER PRICE Local Delivery HK$1500 Overseas Delivery US$195 Shipping costs: Local HK$45 (per copy) US/International US$50 (per copy)

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The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong 1904 Bank of America Tower, 12 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong. 7-8 • 2019 Tel: (852) 2530 6934 Email: hchung@amcham.org.hk

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President’s Memo its people that the time for rational and constructive dialogue is now. Urgent action is needed before the city’s hard-won standing as Asia’s leading international financial and commercial center suffers severe damage.

A very warm welcome home to those of you who managed to escape the heat and simmering tension of Hong Kong this summer. If you did take a vacation, you probably have returned to find that the tension in Hong Kong has risen dramatically and weekend protester skirmishes with riot police are starting to feel like a new and disturbing normal. AmCham continues to relay a core message to Hong Kong’s leaders and

views from leading scholars, diplomats and policymakers with voices from global business. And let’s hope Thanksgiving this year lives up to its name and we can celebrate real progress in bridging the deep divisions in Hong Kong society. This is always a special day, when the American business community comes together to break bread with Hong Kong government officials and colleagues.

That said, we have a lot to look forward to at the chamber. As we went to press, AmCham was preparing to host a welcome breakfast for new US Consul General Hanscom Smith at the Ocean Park Marriott Hotel. We were also set to host a dynamic and highly popular event for this year’s Women of Influence Awards, and we’re eagerly anticipating another inspiring day in November.

We look forward to seeing you there.

In September we will host our 27th annual China Conference, which this year focuses on the global impact of the shifting Sino-US relationship. Former US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, President Barack Obama’s Asia adviser, Evan Medeiros, and Goldman Sachs Japan Vice Chair Kathy Matsui are just three names from our customary stellar lineup, marrying

Regards, Tara Joseph AmCham President

BOARD OF GOVERNORS CHAIRMAN Robert Grieves VICE CHAIRMAN Diana David TREASURER Owen Belman

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

GOVERNORS Donald Austin

Anna-Marie Slot

Leonie Valentine

Sanjeev Chatrath

Jennifer Van Dale

Simon Ogus

Jenny Wong

David Cruikshank

Mark Green

Anne O’Riordan

Pat-Nie Woo

EX-OFFICIO GOVERNOR

Seth Peterson

Matthew Hosford

Eric Szweda

Patrick Wu

Jack Lange

Karen Reddington

Christopher Laskowski Kevin Tranbarger

Richard Weisman

Sabrina Lin

CHAMBER COMMITTEES

Vice-Chair

Tara Joseph

Lennard Yong

Rick Truscott

Working group

Apparel, Footwear & Supply Chain

Education

Food & Beverage

Intellectual Property

Gareth Brooks

Virginia Wilson

Veronica Sze

Gabriela Kennedy

Sally Peng

Abigail DeLessio

Future of Work

Ball

Energy

Peter Liu

David Cruikshank

Joseph Jacobelli

Wei Jie

Lynne Sprugel

John Zadkovich

China Business Ben Simpfendorfer

Ling Jin

John Siu Communications & Marketing Anita Davis

Lauren Chung

Corporate Social Responsibility Genevieve Hilton Hans Leung

Janice Lao

Creativity & Arts Anita Cheung

Chair

PRESIDENT

David Andrews

Thomas Lui Environment & Sustainability Jim Taylor Financial Services Rebecca Terner Lentchner Michael Frank Financial Services-Fintech Jean-Remi Lopez Daniel Warelis

Healthcare & Insurance

Victor Tse Jasper MacSlarrow Invest in USA Eric Szweda

Amelie Dionne-Charest

Law

Hanif Kanji

Chiann Bao

Stephen Leung

Jessica Bartlett

Innovation & Technology

Real Estate

Jen Flowers Lucy Werner Infrastructure & Construction

Robert Johnston Edward Noble Sports Loron Orris

Trade & Investment Barrett Bingley Tatman Savio David Chao Trade & Investment-Shadow Economy Ming Lai Cheung Michael Wong Amita Haylock Jeremy Birch Transportation & Logistics Geoffrey Siebengartner Gavin Dow Steven Suh Women of Influence Anne LeBourgeois Jennifer Parks

Ian Chung

Taxation

Steve Lewis

Peter Guang Chen

Young Professionals

Wade Wagatsuma

Jamie Ford

AmChamHK

Nicholas Gordon

7-8 • 2019

New Business Contacts The following people are new AmCham members: Company Name

First Name

Last Name

Position

5+design

Linda

Reilly

Marketing Director

Agnus Consulting

Tor

Mesoy

Managing Director

American Express

Ryan

Norine

VP & GM of Global Commercial Services

Bao Arbitration Office

Chiann

Bao

Independent Arbitrator

BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters

Sebastian

Schenk

Head of Digitalization of Businesses and Functions, Asia Pacific

DBS Bank (Hong Kong)

Brit

Blakeney

Executive Director

Matthew

Senior Vice President

Brata

Yudha

Senior Manager

Yongwen

Cao

Manager

Peter Guang

Chen

Partner, Tax & Legal

Tania

Flanagan

Associate Director

Geelong Sales Company International

Alistair

HansonCurrie

Director of Operations

Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG)

Minh

Head of Greater China

Serene

Lim

Head of Events & Marketing, APAC

Joyce

Ling

Head of Client Solutions, Hong Kong

Andrew

Partner

Rod

Haire

Partner

Joyce

Partner

Ann

Haydon

Head

Annabel

Davies

Principal Deputy Head (Curricular)

Brian

Murphy

Assistant House Master/Head of Expeditions/ Teacher of Mathematics

Edward

Nightingale

Senior House Master/Teacher of English

Madeleine

Ponting

Human Resources Manager

Nishel

Turpin

Director of Communications, Admissions & Development

Harvest Global Investments

Robert

Chen

Head of Asset Allocation & Passive Investments

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology

Helen

Chen

Head, Communications & External Affairs

Hongkong International Theme Parks

Jacky

Director, Corporate Alliances

International Justice Mission

Miwa

Chan

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Kimberly-Clark (HK)

Dominic

Iacono

Managing Director

Lion Brothers Far East

Judy

Tai

Merchandising Manager

Mitsubishi Corporation Hong Kong

Kosaku

Kawai

President & Managing Director

MOTIF HK

Catherine

Cole

Chief Executive Officer

Nike

Michele

Lau

Global Sr Product Creation Director - Apparel

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Global Sage

Harrow International School Hong Kong

AmChamHK

7-8 â&#x20AC;˘ 2019

Origin X Capital

Sandra

Founding Partner

OutSystems

Mark

Weaser

Vice President, Asia Pacific

Anthony

Lam

Head of Architecture Solutions

Rosa

Wong

Regional Sales Director, Greater China Region

Sally

Xin

APAC Field Marketing Manager

Paypal Pte

Michelle

Chui

Head of Government Relations, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan

Philip Morris Asia

Caness

Chan

Manager, Corporate Communications - Asia

Ashwin

Nair

Director, Fiscal Affairs & International Trade Asia

Royal Pacific Hotel

Robert

Hon

General Manager

State Street Bank & Trust Co

Abigail

Jones

Senior Vice President - Head of Legal Asia Pacific

Telstra International

Paul

Abfalter

Head of North Asia & Global Wholesale

Ellen

Chu

Head of Marketing, North Asia

Lauren

Ellison

Legal Business Partner, Asia & EMEA

Matt

Lough

Head of Global OTT

Alice

Ting

Country Managing Director, Hong Kong

Peter

Woo

Head of North Asia Enterprise

Mark

Barnekow

Executive Director

Lily

Lee

Senior Associate Director, Employer Relations, Career Services

Cerise

Miller

Associate Director, Global Engagement

Joni

Coughlin

Director, Executive Education Open Enrollment Programs

Timothy

Ringrose

Managing Director - Executive Education

Visa Hong Kong

Maaike

Steinebach

General Manager, Hong Kong & Macau

Visichain

Richard

McGirr

Founder/Managing Director: Client Services

University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Hong Kong

University of Michigan Ross School of Business Asia-Pacific Regional Office

AmChamHK

7-8 â&#x20AC;˘ 2019

MEMBERSPOTLIGHT Name: Simon Buckby Job title: Managing Partner Company: Instinctif Partners (Hong Kong) Industry: Communications AmCham member since: February 2019 Where is home? I am from London and I relocated to Hong Kong with Instinctif Partners, an international communications agency, just before Christmas in 2018. So everything is still shiny and new, exciting and daunting.

‘Don’t rush on the stage, you might fall off it’

What do you miss most about home? The constant news about Brexit. And I am delighted to miss it. Other things, it’s too soon to say; but HK and the wider region seem to have everything I need to take my mind off London. Tell us something not many people know about you. I own two season tickets at Manchester United and I am making friends in HK by lending them to nice people who would like to enjoy some of the very best views at Old Trafford the next time they are in Britain. In another life, I would be… Scoring the goals, not watching from the stands at Old Trafford. Or writing extremely meaningful yet best-selling novels. First ever job? Skivvying in the office of a British Member of Parliament. Best advice you’ve ever received? Don’t rush on the stage, you might fall off it. I have just arrived in this amazing city and following this advice I am patiently spending time trying to get to know people here, to listen and learn, to understand the niche in which I can make a useful contribution. What do you like to do in your time off? I teach scuba diving and I am trying to get round as many places in Asia as possible. Having spent two weeks in North Korea a couple of years ago, I

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

am open to all suggestions for somewhere different and interesting to explore. Something on your bucket list for 2019. I completed the Tokyo marathon at the start of March. What attracted you to Amcham? First arriving in HK, I mostly need advice on where I can fit in, as well as help in expanding my network of work contacts and social friends. AmCham is a great support in all that. Which AmCham event are we likely to find you at next? I’ve already been to a big evening reception and a small policy breakfast so I will keep on coming until you’ve had enough of me!

MY FAVORITE AMCHAM EXPERIENCE

JESSICA CUTRERA Capital Company

MY FAVORITE AMCHAM EXPERIENCE 12

“AmCham events sponsored by the Financial Services and Tax Committees have provided access to top industry professionals and facilitated engaging dialogue. These events have been a great source of knowledge and dialogue for our employees. The networking at AmCham events has also been a great way to connect with other industry professionals.”

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

COVER STORY

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE

BOX

AmChamHK

7-8 â&#x20AC;˘ 2019

Far from being in terminal decline, the opportunities for Hong Kong as a transshipment and maritime hub are limitless, says Modern Terminals' Peter J Levesque. All it takes is a change of mindset

COVER STORY

In the world of shipping, big is beautiful. So Hong Kong has enjoyed something of a beauty pageant in recent weeks, with the mega vessels OOCL Hong Kong and Cosco Shipping’s Galaxy both making their maiden calls to the city. For Modern Terminals Group Managing Director Peter J Levesque, the port calls were an emphatic symbol of Hong Kong’s future prospects as a global transshipment and logistics hub. They were also an opportunity to showcase the newly rationalized cargo handling facilities of the four Kwai Tsing terminal operators that have grouped their operations under the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance (HKSPA). “The four parties to the Seaport Alliance will no longer compete against each other in Hong Kong. Instead, we’re joining together so that Hong Kong can compete with the other big transshipment ports in the region,” said Levesque. “The alliance is not a loose-handshake agreement. It’s a contractual joint venture. We share revenue, we share costs and we share profit. And when you share profit, by definition you don’t compete.” Formed in January this year, HKSPA’s members have completed their berth and yard-planning strategies to improve the level of services they provide customers, squeezing out extra cost savings by eliminating unnecessary inter-terminal trucking.

AmCham President Tara Joseph pictured on a recent tour of MTL's facilities at Kwai Tsing.

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

COVER STORY

Already, inter-terminal trucking has been reduced by 34 percent. The members’ 23 berths are divided into three terminal zones to provide greater efficiency to shipping alliances and individual carriers. That means the HKSPA can accommodate up to eight mega vessels of similar size to OOCL Hong Kong simultaneously. But while big may be beautiful, it is also a symptom of the long-term decline in Hong Kong’s port business that the alliance seeks to reverse. Just two months after Orient Overseas (International) Ltd took delivery of what was then the world’s largest container ship in May 2017, Hong Kong’s leading shipping line was snapped up in a US$6.3 billion takeover by China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping Holdings. As of January last year, the top 15 container lines accounted for just over 70 percent of global container ship capacity, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development data. Six

When OOIL Chairman Tung Chee-hwa stepped down from the firm his father founded to be Hong Kong’s first post-colonial leader in 1997, more than 90 percent of southern China’s overseas shipments went via Hong Kong. The city would soon oust Singapore as the world’s busiest container port. But signs of the coming decline were clear: in Tung’s first five years as Hong Kong chief executive, container traffic grew by an annual average of 5.6 percent; in Shenzhen, that figure was 46 percent. By the time Tung stepped down in 2005, Singapore was back on top and Hong Kong had begun its slide to the seventh place it holds today. Shanghai now leads a world top 10 that includes five other Mainland Chinese terminals. Mainland ports are cheaper, closer to factories and have largely closed infrastructure and knowhow gaps that had compensated for Hong Kong’s higher costs. After peaking in 2008 at 24.5 million twenty-foot

‘There are about 700 ports in the world, and 690 would like to be in the top 10’ months later, the top 10 controlled about the same share, the data show. “Our customers consolidated from 20 major carriers down to 12, and the major East-West global alliances consolidated from four down to three,” Levesque said. As customers and their alliances turned into giants, so too did their ships: OOCL Hong Kong was the first to break through the 21,000-TEU mark. There are now around a dozen, led by the 23,756-TEU MSC Gulsun. OOIL’s demise marked a final twist for a company whose fortunes have closely mirrored those of Hong Kong itself. The unique combination of deep, natural harbor on China’s doorstep and rule of law enabled the city to ride the explosion of trade that followed Beijing’s market-opening reforms. In 1970, trade accounted for about 5 percent of China’s gross domestic product; it is about 40 percent today.

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

equivalent units, or TEU, Hong Kong last year handled 19.6 million. And in the first three months of this year, volumes fell 9.5 percent year-on-year to 4.42 million TEU, government data show. “The Hong Kong port had been so successful for so long that it really took quite a bit of courage for the four major terminal operators to get together and say that, for the future of the Hong Kong port, we really need to do things differently,” Levesque said. None of which dents his enduring optimism. “There are about 700 ports in the world, and 690 would like to be in the top 10,” he said. “The opportunity for the Hong Kong port is limitless. I don’t think it’s an infrastructure issue. I think it’s a mindset.” By refocusing on the holistic picture of what Hong Kong has to offer, the HKSPA reckons it can win back about two million TEUs in trade. It will do that by targeting leading regional rivals in the

COVER STORY

transshipment segment of the market, rather than through internecine competition between Greater Bay Area ports. Such a strategy neatly dovetails with Beijing’s strategic development plan for the GBA – comprising nine Mainland Chinese cities and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. First, there had to be a top-to-bottom realignment of Hong Kong’s port business model. There are three key segments of business for the container port in Hong Kong, he explained. Hong Kong was primarily designed to handle “gate” trade, in which containers are trucked from factories in southern China and shipped out to international markets. As China’s port infrastructure grew, more and more of that business left Hong Kong. “Instead of trucks coming down from China we now have a lot of barges,” Levesque said. “The port was not designed for massive barge traffic, and it was never really intended to be a transshipment hub. “You only handle the box once in gate shipment. In a transshipment you can handle the same box two or three times, but you only get paid once,” he said. “We need a cost structure that supports this kind of operation.”

A ship typically holds containers for several shipping lines. Prior to the HKSPA, many of these boxes would need to be trucked between terminals for onward shipment. Rationalizing port visits is expected to result in about 275,000 fewer transfers of containers between terminals. The alliance also estimates that improved port efficiency will save vessels more than 1,000 hours a year – which translates into 37,000 tons less marine fuel consumed. Together, these savings would reduce CO2 emissions by more than 130,000 tons. Joint operations will also mean less pressure to find more land. “We are trying to get more land to increase our competitiveness,” Levesque said. “The HKSPA should help us be more efficient with the land that we have.” Another major benefit from the new arrangement is that each terminal is sharing its best practice: “It will bring bring all four terminals up to the highest standards,” he added. Gauging the success of the alliance is complicated by the ongoing trade tensions between the US and

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

COVER STORY

China, and headwinds from the global economy. China’s industrial output grew 4.8 percent in July, its slowest pace since February 2002. At the same time, Germany’s economy contracted in the second quarter, while yields on long-term US and UK debt both dropped below those of short-term bonds – an indicator of possible recession. Meantime, Hong Kong remains the world’s busiest air-cargo hub – reflecting the growing share of ever smaller, lighter components in the mix of global trade. But rather than a zero-sum game in which maritime's loss is aviation's gain, the sum of the whole far exceeds the value of the parts. “If you’re a global logistics company, you need a world-class airport and you need a world-class seaport, because 80 percent of cargo moves by sea. So you need both air and ocean infrastructure to be a logistics hub,” Levesque said. “We’re way ahead in Hong Kong because we have a world-class airport, we have a world-class seaport, we have other worldclass infrastructure, and when you combine this with our freeport status, rule of law, transparency, and

ease of doing business, you have something really powerful and competitive in the region.” So where is Hong Kong slipping up? “I think one of the mistakes we make is that we tend to have a myopic view of what Hong Kong has to offer.” Hong Kong’s government is pushing the city as a global maritime hub, aiming to attract shippingrelated enterprises to set up shop and to promote the depth and range of expertise already at hand. It points to the “vibrant maritime cluster” of more than 800 companies providing ship management, ship broking and chartering, marine insurance, ship finance, maritime law and arbitration services. Hong Kong’s Shipping Register is the world’s fourthbiggest, with 2,628 vessels as of June, almost double the number at the beginning of 2009. “You wouldn’t try to be an aviation hub without airplanes. Why would you be a maritime center without ships, especially when you have something as valuable as this port in your backyard?” he said. “So yes, we need to develop the maritime center and all

'You wouldn’t try to be an aviation hub without airplanes. Why would you be a maritime center without ships, especially when you have something as valuable as this port in your backyard?'

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

COVER STORY

secure source we can be much more certain about what’s in the box.” Technology also offers the opportunity for increased automation. Crane operators can do the same job sitting in front of a computer screen at an ergonomically optimized desk, using a joystick not dissimilar to a gaming console and with nothing but the whir of air-conditioning to disturb the peace. Still, retrofitting one of the world’s busiest ports poses a massive challenge. “It has to be done in stages and it takes longer than a greenfield project,” Levesque said. The HKSPA is “well on its way in this area.” “I don’t think the carriers look and say, ‘I’m going to go to the world’s number one port today and then to the world’s number seven port tomorrow.’ They only look at which ports provide the best service and can get their ships in and out of port as fast as possible,” he said. Tara Joseph, with Peter Levesque bringing up the rear.

the ancillary services that go along with that because they add tremendous value. But at the same time, we must continue down the road to becoming a 21st century smart port. We’re already a world-class port, but we need to get our mojo back.” Bringing the port into the 21st century means investing into state-of-the-art technologies, including artificial intelligence, internet of things and automation. “The industry itself has been pretty slow at taking up new technology. Now the industry is in a position where it must adopt new technology in order to become more efficient,” Levesque said.

“That’s what our customers look for in a port, and that’s what we’re creating with the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance. A new value proposition for global carriers. One step at a time.”

WHAT MAKES A PORT GREAT? Freeport status

Blockchain is one technology that promises immediate benefits, both in terms of more efficient, transparent and reliable tracking of cargoes and record keeping, as well as in fighting illicit trade and reducing the risks from poor monitoring of hazardous cargoes.

Location – cargo hinterland Frequency of shipping/barge services Rule of law/well-established legal system Tax benefits and ease of doing business High operational efficiency

“By putting it all on the blockchain you’re able to authenticate the documentation process, and to me that’s a major step in supply chain security,” he said. “If the shipping documents are coming from a

State-of-the-art physical infrastructure

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

SPORTING CHANCE

SPORT & GENDER

A look inside the fight for pay parity, by Mathew Scott

AmChamHK

7-8 â&#x20AC;¢ 2019

SPORT & GENDER

The longer the FIFA Women’s World Cup progressed the more it became apparent that soccer wasn’t the only thing being played out in front of a global audience of millions. Megan Rapinoe (pictured on the previous page) was among those who made sure of that.

“Well it’s not good for them is it?” she told reporters when asked how the result may affect the lawsuit. “Obviously, it’s huge… We have a case no matter what, but this just sort of blows it out of the water. It’s, like, is it even about that anymore? Or is it just about doing the right thing?"

The 34-year-old from California has never flinched when it comes to championing the causes she holds close. As the tournament went on, and the USA moved close to a final – and a title – that somehow seemed predestined, co-captain Rapinoe used the spotlight to bring into the open a conversation over pay parity in sport that has too often and for too long been carried out behind closed boardroom doors.

The federation finds itself in a unique position, she said: “Ride this wave of good fortune and get on board and hopefully set things right for the future.”

Rapinoe and her teammates came into the World Cup in France at loggerheads with the US Soccer Federation over pay, launching a lawsuit that claims “institutionalized gender discrimination.” When the USA beat the Netherlands 2-0 to win the final at Stade de Lyon, Rapinoe seized her chance.

Crowds all through the month-long World Cup tournament had also warmed to the cause, and by the end of the July 7 final were chanting “Equal pay!” Out on the pitch, the American women did everything that was asked of them, winning all seven of their games. Off the pitch, people were talking about statistics that reveal just how wide the pay gap between the genders in sport remains. For winning the World Cup the USA team were each set to receive US$250,000. If the USA men’s team ever did the same, each player would receive

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

SPORT & GENDER

‘There's no secret that we're sort of the leaders in the women's game on a lot of different issues – equality, pay equality, gender issues’ – Megan Rapinoe, World Cup-winning US soccer player

US$1 million. Only, the American men failed to even qualify for their last World Cup.

Rapinoe left the World Cup ready to dig in for the fight ahead.

Overall women’s teams shared US$30 million across the World Cup, and they left with a promise from FIFA president Gianni Infantino that the figure would increase to US$60 million for the next edition in 2023. Last year, men’s teams shared a kitty of US$400 million for their version of the event.

“There’s no secret that we’re sort of the leaders in the women’s game on a lot of different issues – equality, pay equality, gender issues,” she told CNN.

Attorneys for the USA women say the national team generated US$50.9 million in revenue between 2016 and 2018 while the men brought in US$49.9 million. Detractors point to smaller crowds at events and, traditionally, less sponsorship available when it comes to women’s sport. Those pushing for equal pay say that things are changing. Last year’s US Open women’s tennis final drew more viewers than the men’s; Visa got in behind the women’s World Cup and in December signed a multi-year deal to promote the women’s game in Europe, estimated to be worth around US$12.5 million. AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

Love All: Tennis leads way Tennis is the only global sport where women’s pay either equals or even comes close to men’s. The US Open at Flushing Meadow was the ground-breaker, offering equal prize money to both sexes as far back as 1973, while the only woman to make the annual Forbes list of sport’s top 100 earners for 2019 was American star Serena Williams, at 63rd with US$29.2 million from prizes and endorsements for the year. While that makes for an impressive earn by anyone’s standards, the reality check comes when it’s compared to Forbes’ top two male earners – soccer stars Lionel Messi (US$127 million) and Cristiano Ronaldo (US$109 million).

SPORT & GENDER

Outside the global game of soccer, massive disparities exist in the likes of basketball, where players in North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) receive US$7.4 million on average, compared with US$75,000 for their counterparts in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA). In Asia, women have long been at the forefront of sports such as badminton – India’s P V Sindhu was seventh on Forbes’ Asia list last year with US$8.5 million – and volleyball, where China’s Zhu Ting has been earning millions playing with Turkish outfit VakıfBank in the European Championship. Women’s professional golf has meanwhile been dominated by Asian players over the past two decades but, again, the wage gap is wide. Last season saw Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn top the Ladies Professional Golf Association prize list with almost US$2.8 million; in the men’s Professional Golf Association, Englishman Justin Rose came out on top with just over US$18 million. 22

How the success of the American women’s soccer team – and their ongoing court case – affect sports globally remains to be seen. But there are positive signs emerging elsewhere. Australia were another of the teams to shine at the Women’s World Cup, reaching the last 16 and in captain Samantha Kerr, who plies her trade in the US with Chicago Red Stars, having one of the most exciting talents in the game. Football Federation Australia’s top W-League last season instigated a 33 percent rise in minimum pay for its players, and brought in the “same base hourly rate for same base work” plan so W-League and the men’s A-League players receive the same minimum remuneration based on an hourly rate. “Over the past two years, FFA, alongside Australia’s professional clubs, players, and other stakeholders, has made significant strides in progressing the remuneration available to Australian female AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

SPORT & GENDER

footballers. FFA is committed to continuing to work diligently within this space,” an FFA spokesperson said. “FFA is currently bidding to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. By 2027 it is our goal to reach fifty-fifty in registered players, and make football the clear sport of choice for women and girls both on and off the field. Hosting the tournament on home soil would help FFA to reach that target, and open commercial doors, inviting greater investment in the women’s game.”

AmChamHK

7-8 • 2019

SPONSORED CONTENT

partners – are already likely to be directly or indirectly connected to this economic area. Going forward, greater connectivity and improved harmonization of regulations – core tenets of the new GBA blueprint – will make it easier to do business and seize new opportunities within the region. The various jurisdictions involved will begin to smooth out labor-market and residency policies, environmental protection, regulatory standards, visa requirements, for example, and seek ways to coordinate infrastructure networks and smart-city development. Progress is already being made in the area of taxation, with certain professionals from Hong Kong recently being offered tax subsidies to work in Guangdong cities. We are also starting to see targeted capital account liberalization that makes it easier for Hong Kong residents to set up bank accounts in Mainland China and make payments for household expenses. Such measures will allow for much more fluid movement throughout the GBA. The Greater Bay Area is special. Perhaps nowhere else in the world can rapidly evolving high-tech manufacturing capabilities, a huge consumer base and talent pool, and an international financing and logistics hub be found in such close proximity. In Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other Pearl River Delta cities, the made-for-export manufacturing of lowend garments or toys for which the region was once famous has rapidly given way to gleaming factories and design centers that can turn out anything from advanced electronics and clean energy systems to battery technologies and aerial drones. Macau has grown into an international tourism and leisure center, and can act as a platform for trade with Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil.

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Hong Kong’s contribution to the mix is providing the capital, education and research, entrepreneurial know-how and international connectivity that is crucial to companies in the neighboring Mainland. As a global financial center, the city can also help bring international standards of business, innovation and entrepreneurship to the rest of the region. It is also a tried-and-trusted gateway for businesses and investors heading the other way – from overseas into the Mainland – including through a pair of schemes that link its stock exchange with those in Shenzhen and Shanghai. As China’s currency becomes more widely used overseas for trade and investment, Hong Kong and the GBA will be at the cutting edge of further measures to liberalize capital flows between Mainland China and the rest of the world. True, the GBA vision is a long-term one, and changes won’t come overnight. The blueprint foresees substantial coordination across the region by 2022, paving the way for it to become an internationally competitive, efficient and innovative economic hub by 2035. Still, the fact that the different cities’ complementary strengths have been building connections within the region for decades means that the new GBA blueprint builds on solid foundations. Businesses in the region already see the potential. A survey conducted by HSBC, KPMG and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce last year found that nearly 80 percent of executives operating in the region expect it to grow faster than the rest of China over the next three years. Companies that are not already there might want to join them in taking a closer look.

THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR Hopewell Holdings founder Sir Gordon Wu recalls in this extract from a 2006 biography his first foray into China following Deng Xiaoping’s historic 1978 declaration that China needed foreign expertise and capital to build a ‘modern and prosperous’ society

China rarely entered Wu’s thoughts during the busy 1970s, when he had numerous construction projects, the erection of the Hopewell Centre, and a young family to deal with. Until one day in 1978 when supreme leader Deng Xiaoping announced the “open door policy,” a change that would begin a major shift in world geopolitics. Wu read and reread Deng’s historic speech and came to believe that serious changes were in the offing. He had already seen what Chinese entrepreneurs could do in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines. The opening up of China allowed the Chinese their first glimpse of the outside world for 30 years, and for many it must have been profoundly unsettling. Everything foreign seemed better – and usually was. Everyone yearned for something from outside, even if they didn’t quite know what to do with it. One businessman relates the story of going to one of the new foreign restaurants on the Mainland and seeing young people eating bread and jam with chopsticks.

‘I never really asked what they thought about America and its ways, and they didn’t tell me their views. But I know they liked the hamburgers’ – Gordon Wu, on his tour of American highways with Guangdong officials As soon as he could, Wu started projects over the border. Several people told him he was mad. He replied: “Hell, I’m Chinese and I want to build a relationship of trust with these people on the Mainland.” When in China Wu sometimes went for an evening stroll around the city. At night, the streets were completely deserted. The crowds of cyclists returning home from the fields or factories had reached their homes and stayed there. There was no electricity for AmChamHK

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streetlights, so who would want to go for a walk in the dark? Even if they did, there was really nothing to do other than sit in the park. Most people were poor. Those who had money had nothing to spend it on. There were no shops, no cinemas, no bars, few restaurants and poor transport. Wu strolled through the gloomy, silent streets and grappled with the key question: How could he make people understand that everything would change dramatically, and in many cases remarkably quickly, as China began her modernization program? Red China, red tape Wu quickly learned that the key to being successful in China was to have support at the right level. The villains, he found, tended to be at the middle levels of government. He would often find himself under pressure from them to procure building materialsof questionable quality from certain suppliers. He hated underhand dealing and flatly refused to pay any bribes. “Once you start down a crooked path, it never ends,” he told his staff. But much of the work in China was frustrating, after his experience of efficient Hong Kong. He discovered that to build anything on the Mainland almost certainly meant every stage of the process would require months of negotiations with provincial government officials. Hopelessly naive in his first meetings, he eventually hit upon a technique that worked: he made sure his joint-venture partners in China always made as much money as he did – or more. “I win some points and I lose some. But at the end of the day, I feel both sides will come out winners, and that’s what’s important.” Never intimidated by rank, Wu contacted the highest grade officials he could and told them some hard facts. China needed three things and she needed them fast: telephones to improve communication, working power stations to supply electricity, and a decent road system for transport. As an engineer he weighed up his experience and decided to concentrate on infrastructure for transport and power. From his very first visit back to Guangdong Province, Wu envisaged how a superhighway and an interconnected system of roads between Hong Kong and Guangzhou and around the Pearl River

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Delta would speed up development. The logic of the idea was clear and compelling to Wu, but it proved impossible for Chinese officials to understand. Most of them did not own cars and did not know how to drive. “Chinese people can hardly afford bicycles. So why would they need a highway for cars?” one asked. Wu thought back to the first time he had seen the New Jersey Turnpike as a student in 1954. It was clear to him that highways were playing a key role in economic development, and creating huge opportunities in America and the rest of the West, just as the canals had done in the 18th century and the railways had done in the 19th century. A quarter of a century after that American journey, Wu was invited to Beijing. He had his letter of intent to proceed with his projects, but a higher authority was needed to give the stamp of approval to really get things moving. Finding friends in high places On December 9, 1981, Wu met Vice Premier Gu Mu, who was responsible for foreign and economic cooperation in China. It was noted by those who attended the meeting that Vice Premier Gu complimented Wu on “being a fine scholar, a highly organized entrepreneur and a brave and courageous Chinese.” Gu agreed with all of Wu's proposals and urged him to press on. He immediately arranged for Wu to meet Premier Zhao Ziyang that same afternoon. The two men found common ground straight away and would go on to form a close bond over the next decade. Zhao, a warm, forward-looking man, got on well with Wu. They shared an engineering background, as well as a determination to make major progress in China. Zhao warned Wu that his visionary projects would require a lot of stamina because whilst China wanted to change there would be many obstacles. Zhao offered his full support. He wanted China to reform and he could see that Wu could help bring muchneeded infrastructure to the country. Gaining this level of support for the superhighway and his other projects was an extraordinary feat in those early days of foreign investment. The officials realized that Wu probably did not even begin to understand the magnitude of the problems he would face, but they were impressed with his bold ideas and commitment.

Back in Guangdong, Wu was directed to start discussions with the head of the Guangdong Travel and Transport Bureau, Li Wu. The Hong Kong builder found him a fascinating man with an extraordinary history: he was a long-term Communist Party member; he had been a guerrilla fighter during the Japanese war in China; he was a union organizer who had tried to destabilize Hong Kong in the 1940s; and he was a survivor of the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Yet although he had lived a remarkable life, Wu was not sure why the government felt he was qualified to be the head of the travel and transport bureau. He didn’t own a car, nor did he know how to drive. He had never traveled outside China. The transport chief led Wu out of his office and showed him his own personal transport – a bicycle in the standard two-tone local style: black paint and orange rust. They kicked the tires together and laughed. In that moment, they formed an instant bond.

‘Even if they did venture out, there was really nothing to do other than sit in the park. Most people were poor. Those who had money had nothing to spend it on. There were no shops, no cinemas, no bars, few restaurants and poor transport’ Li Wu was one of the few people among the authorities that understood the benefits a good road system could bring to the underdeveloped province. But the bureaucracy remained a nightmare. The difficulties of trying to get approval to build the highway kept mounting, and reached a peak when Wu was attempting to obtain the land that would be required to construct it. His plan caused a revolt

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in the travel bureau, an unheard-of event. People working in the bureau complained vigorously to their bosses that this man Wu was a very bad person. For a start, he was a capitalist. Look at his plans. He wants to build a highway which would only be used by a few rich people with cars. Staff pointed out that the teachings of Mao Zedong enshrined the land for agriculture and growing food. Giving it away to a rich capitalist to build a road was a travesty. Besides, they argued, China already had railways. They should just concentrate on building more railways that everyone could use, rather than a highway for cars that only a few idle rich could use. Wu knew then that even though China was starting to undergo economic reforms, he was still The Class Enemy. He wondered how he could communicate his ideas better. He had shown everyone photos of highways from around the world, he had shown them his plans, he had done endless sketches and diagrams, but he could see they really did not understand. One night, when Wu was sitting on the train returning to Hong Kong, the solution presented itself. If people could see and experience what he was talking about, then they might begin to understand it. That’s why they understood trains, because they used them themselves.

memories for him of when he had first stepped off the boat in San Francisco 30 years earlier. After Los Angeles, they headed south to the Mexican border to inspect the customs and immigration procedures. Wu wanted to show them how efficiently this worked, in the hopes they could learn from this and improve the border crossing between Hong Kong and China. After a short stopover, they headed east on a US interstate highway across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, before driving right through the heart of Middle America to New York, a journey of thousands of miles that took 14 days. The party stayed in bad highway motels and ate greasy hamburgers from fast food joints. “It was great,” Wu said afterwards. At one point the vicemayor of Guangzhou turned to Wu and said: “This road is so smooth that I can write in my diary as we travel – I couldn’t do that on the rough roads of China.” Throughout the trip – which took in a visit to his 25th anniversary reunion at Princeton University – Wu made a point of never discussing politics or capitalism. He said afterwards: “I never really asked what they thought about America and its ways, and they didn’t tell me their views. But I know they liked the hamburgers.”

Capitalist roaders? Wu organized a tour, to fly a group of provincial government representatives all the way to the United States to see first hand what big roads were all about. In June 1983, Wu and four senior managers from Hopewell flew to the United States with a group of six Communist Party officials. After a 14-hour flight to San Francisco, Wu purchased a large Dodge van for US$17,000 which seated 15 people. They loaded up the car and after a pleasant tour around the bay on a balmy Sunday morning, he headed for Los Angeles. Over the next two weeks, the Hong Kong builder drove them all over the great highways of America. Their eyes were as round as saucers. They couldn’t believe what their eyes showed them: the cars, the people, the shopping malls, the big buildings, and just the sheer noise and pace of Los Angeles. Wu knew exactly what they were feeling. It brought back

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At the end of the two-week tour, Wu had convinced the Chinese officials they simply must start to build a highway system like America’s. On their return home, these officials became advocates within the Chinese government for the project. They genuinely wanted China to have what America had. Wu continued his mission to convert powerful officials to his point of view – but now had support from inside. After numerous meetings, Wu felt that he must have drunk about five gallons of maotai. But it proved worth it. Formal approval to build his highway was granted in 1984. It was a major step for Wu, but the battle to turn the dream into reality was just beginning. Superhighwayman... Wu signed up to build the 122-kilometer highway under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme, a concept then new to Asia, where infrastructure projects were undertaken by governments. But lack

of funds in many developing countries meant there was a need to involve the private sector and foreign investors. A BOT project was essentially a partnership between the private sector and the government of the host economy. The government provided necessary land and approvals. The foreign investor provided the capital and the expertise to get the project built.

Once the word got around the press that Gordon Wu planned to build a world-class expressway between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, there was much discussion – and wide skepticism. Commentators found the uncertainties and ever-extending timetables of the superhighway construction plan too much to contemplate, and believed Wu was destined to fail.

Wu said he would raise the cash, build and then operate the highway for a period of 30 years. It would then be handed over to the ownership of the state. In those three decades, Hopewell would receive 40 percent of all toll profits for the first 10 years and 30 percent for the remaining 20 years. Wu told the media that his road would be completed “in two or three years.”

But Wu was looking far ahead. He was already envisioning a time when there would be easy border crossings in and out of China, and major cities all over the Mainland would be linked by major transport routes. In his mind, he saw himself developing arterial routes to link the eastern and western part of the Pearl River Delta with Hong Kong. The superhighway would be just the beginning. Wu believed that this future was inevitable.

He naively figured that since it was a communist country, and the state owned everything, the authorities would simply give him the land. But farmers occupied it, and there were huts, crops, trees and other property. The plan was almost immediately bogged down. “I have to pay off each person individually,” he told colleagues on his return from China. “I’m flabbergasted.” Local bureaucrats also proved difficult, by holding up land deliveries and looking for favors or control over construction contracts. It would take a further six painful years, and the powerful influence of Premier Zhao, who had become a big Wu fan, to acquire the right of way to all the land he needed.

This excerpt is taken from Chapter 5 of The Man who Turned the Lights on: Gordon Wu, a 2006 biography written by Rosemary Sayer and published by Chameleon Press. The reprint is made with the generous permission of the author and publisher. Sayer spent a large portion of her career as a business journalist before working in PR – including stints with Jardine Matheson and Standard Chartered Bank. More recently, she has decided to focus on refugee issues and the not-for profit sector.

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GORDON WU SHOWED AMCHAM SOME OF THE ENERGY THAT POWERED HIM THROUGH AN EXTRAORDINARY CAREER Sir Gordon Wu graduated from Princeton with a degree in engineering, returning home to Hong Kong to help run the family’s taxi empire before putting his ivy-league education to good use in construction. He founded Hopewell in the early 1960s, taking the group public on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1972. Wu and his team pioneered new methods of construction and financing for groundbreaking transport and power projects in China, including the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Superhighway and Shajiao B and C power stations. At a sprightly 83, Wu knows how to play his audience, scoring rounds of laughter with his trademark quips and home-spun common sense that over the decades have marked the Hong Kong infrastructure tycoon as a plain-talking scourge of lazy thinkers and purveyors of glib solutions.

“In 1983, I said Hong Kong needs a bridge to connect Zhuhai and Macau… after 1997 I still pushed, and ultimately it was built. But the bureaucrats in Hong Kong said, ‘We don’t want that number of cars on that bridge,’ … very fortunately I was not an investor, otherwise I would have declared bankruptcy. “They listened to the consultants,” he said, getting set to skewer one of his favorite targets. “The Hong Kong government is a government of the consultants, by the consultants, and for the consultants.” Sir Gordon Wu spoke at an AmCham event on July 3. For a full writeup and to hear the speech in full, see our website.

Take his views on the recently opened Hong KongZhuhai-Macau Bridge – a project that must be both a source of chagrin as well as pride: it was, after all, his brainchild, but one that didn’t turn out quite as he had envisioned.

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