Chairman's Message

Dear Members

This is my twenty-sixth magazine message to members – and it is also my last!

After four action-packed years, I will step down from the General Committee and therefore as Chairman of the Chamber at the AGM in September.

However, rather than reflect on the last four years through a valedictory on this occasion I have managed to book some space with the editors in the next edition of the magazine. As your past chairman, I will write then - on the past as your chairman. I’m afraid you can’t get rid of me completely.

Since I wrote in July, there has at last been an easing of quarantine restrictions for travellers at the international border. The requirement to book and spend seven days in a designated quarantine hotel on arrival in Hong Kong has been replaced by a requirement to spend three nights in a DQH. You will still need a mountain of paperwork, including the hugely important QR code on a Health Declaration Form, and of course, a PCR test before you leave your overseas country and a PCR test on arrival in Hong Kong.

Some have argued that this is too little, too late. I prefer to say that this is a positive step to an inevitable lifting of all border quarantine restrictions – perhaps even later this year. Moreover, unless there is a very serious deterioration in the infection data or a new and virulent variant which impacts the rest of the world, I cannot see the Government reversing these reliefs.

There were two tweaks to the regulations which I think show a pragmatic side to the new administration’s approach. The first was the reclassification of the Day of Arrival in Hong Kong as Day Zero – rather than Day One of the designated quarantine period. The second was the definition of the length of quarantine in terms of the number of nights rather than the number of days to be spent in a quarantine hotel. Anyone quarantining will now spend a last third night in a hotel before checking out in the morning, rather than rushing for the exit at one minute past midnight on the eighth day as I have done in the past.

The Chamber completed its submission to the new Chief Executive ahead of his Policy Address on the 19th of October. You can download the complete version here (https://www.britcham.com/common/Uploaded%20files/News/ChamberNewsPolicyWork/2022/BritCham_Policy_Address_Submission_2022.pdf) together with my covering letter. We said very little about COVID restrictions in our submission on the basis that we wanted to focus on the medium and long terms.

We grouped our proposals around five key headings as follows:

- Rebuilding the economy and enabling longer-term structural change.

- Closer economic cooperation with the opportunities of the Mainland.

- Focussing on change in the public sector.

- Improving livelihoods in a more liveable city.

- Ensuring that Hong Kong’s distinctiveness is maintained and positively promoted.

The last heading is particularly important since Hong Kong’s distinctiveness provides us with a niche and a particular role to play not just in the rest of China but also in the region.

It was, to my mind, also significant that President Xi emphasised the distinctiveness of Hong Kong in his speech at the swearing-in ceremony for the new administration, specifically referring to Hong Kong as “China’s Bridge and Window to the World’.

He went on to dedicate a whole paragraph to support Hong Kong’s free and open business environment and in particular applauded our common law system. In a reference to the policy of One Country, Two Systems, he also said, “There is no reason for us to change such a good policy, and we must adhere to it in the long run.” The italics are mine – but perhaps this foretells of no change in 2047? A link to the text of his speech can be found here: https://english.news.cn/20220701/84b773480a944836be7dc4f6b6742342/c.html.

The Chamber will also be examining some of the key themes for the next 25 years - on the journey towards 2047 - in our annual summit which will be held over a day and a half on the 12th and 13th of October at the St Regis Hotel. I am particularly excited to be able to announce that the new Chief Executive, John Lee, has agreed to open this year’s summit with a keynote address. I think this shows his appreciation for the work that the Chamber does but, more importantly, also shows his support and outreach to the international business community in Hong Kong where our members are a significant component. Tickets are still available and can be bought online through the link here: https://www.britcham.com/Public/Events/Hong-Kong-Summit/BritCham-Hong-Kong-Summit.

One of the panels at our summit will be examining the importance of attracting the talent we need to realise Hong Kong’s business opportunities and aspirations.

A worrying statistic recently emerged from the Census and Statistics Department that showed Hong Kong’s population had declined 1.6% from the mid-year point in 2021. There is a natural population decline as a result of the low birth rate (35,100 in the period) compared with a much higher death rate (61,600) – a net reduction of around 26,500.

But we have also seen a net outflow of 95,000 people in the period. As many of our business members will know, this has left a significant talent gap in Hong Kong which is not possible to replace from the home market. A return to a pre-pandemic operating environment (no quarantine and very limited social restrictions) will certainly go a long way to making hiring overseas a great deal easier than is currently the case.

One of the benefits I will miss after I step down as chair is the occasional privileges granted to me personally by the Hong Kong administration. I was recently exceedingly lucky to be invited to a preview of the Palace Museum in late June before its formal opening on 2nd July. I went with high expectations and after four hours I was one of the last to leave and in a state of total euphoria. The experience was exquisite. The building itself is a thing of beauty but the items on display – all on loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing – are quite simply gorgeous.

The West Kowloon Cultural District is a hidden gem and when the rest of the world sees this I genuinely think it will help transform the current perceptions of Hong Kong overseas. The M+ modern art museum is also magnificent in its impact and, as with all modern art, challenges us. There is a huge display from Ai Weiwei, for example, which I am sure will shake a few preconceptions of the current state of Hong Kong.

The theme in this month’s edition of the magazine is Fintech. This is an area in which both Hong Kong and the UK excel and can learn much from each other. There is indeed a Fintech Bridge agreement between the UK and the Hong Kong Governments and I was pleased to see that the DIT team at the Consulate together with Invest Hong Kong have worked on reviving its purpose with a virtual visit to Hong Kong. There is more we can do and I look forward to the Fintech Week at the end of October.

There is a story told of how Joseph Stalin left two letters of advice, discovered after his death, with instructions only to be opened in moments of extreme crisis by his successor as Chairman and General Secretary.

After a failed harvest and in a moment of despair his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, opened the first letter which had a single-line, simple message: “Blame everything on me, Stalin”.

A couple of years later and in the face of a similar crisis Khrushchev remembered the second letter which he enthusiastically opened to read another single-line, simple message “Now sit down and write two letters, Stalin.”

I pass on the gavel as chairman at the AGM when the Chamber will be blessed with a new and fresh approach to the opportunities and issues of the day. We have plenty of talent and experience at BritCham and I have no plans to write my successor any letters.

Peter Burnett, OBE, BBS Chairman, The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong