Oct o be r 2 0 1 1 • Vo l 2 6 • N o 9
In This Issue
Destination PAGE
Hong Kong
4
Recruiting Hurdles
By Sam Powney The HKTDC’s visit to the UK matches well with Britain’s exhortation to its entrepreneurs to ‘look east’. With a push from the UK government and a pull from Hong Kong’s administration, many SMEs are considering making the jump.
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6
Entrepreneur 101
Admittedly
, Hong Kong’s
no means ignored. Lord Green was at the
by a more determinedly global approach.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang may not
‘Think Asia, Think Hong Kong’ symposium,
Steve Price of HSBC explains why this has
be the most internationally familiar among
where he mischievously updated Horace
been dubbed the ‘European paradox’, ‘On
government heads, but it seems certain that
Greeley’s famous epithet, ‘Go West, young
one hand, the nations across the Channel
his visit to Europe in September attracted the
man’, to a more current though less catchy,
are close, culturally familiar and economically
kind of attention he was looking for. Heading
‘Go East, young person’. In other words,
similar, and present fewer trade barriers. On
a major Hong Kong Trade Development
the chancellery wants to extend London’s
the other, opportunities to trade in a relatively
Council (HKTDC) delegation, Mr. Tsang gave
lucrative internationalisation of finance and
saturated and low growth market are limited.’
the keynote speech to over 700 people at the
entertainment to Britain’s manufacturing and
He is not alone in pointing out that while
‘Think Asia, Think Hong Kong’ symposium in
services sectors too.
the European market is still the bedrock
London in mid-September, emphasising his
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of the British economy, British businesses
city’s key place in the development of China.
Business Secretary Vince Cable emphasised
are certainly having to look further afield for
‘Hong Kong is the perfect entry point to the
that the long historic relationship between
faster growth. Of the Sunday Times HSBC
huge Asian market, as hundreds of British
Hong Kong and Britain was now being
International Track 100, monitoring Britain’s
companies already know,’ he said.
‘transformed into a much more dynamic and
fastest growing private firms with international
forward-looking partnership.’ Having reversed
sales, half sought out opportunities abroad in
Meanwhile, from the British government’s
its post-war economic retraction, Britain’s
their first, second or third year, and China is
side, the message chimes very well with
European focus of the last few decades is
now an export destination for no less than 41
that of the HKTDC. No doubt a few of the
now apparently being gradually superseded
of them.
Property Market
old guard in both of Britain’s major political parties will experience a gut feeling of mistrust towards the present government’s exhortations to British SMEs to look beyond the shores of their native land, but the signal from the cash-strapped British government is
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clear – British businesses should think global. Both George Osborne and Lord Green, who visited us here earlier this year, reiterated that the government would lend every support possible to British businesses considering
Plus
expansion overseas. Asia is the prime focus,
• News / New Appointments • Events • Shaken Not Stirred
although other regions of the world are by (Continued on page 2)
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