21 January 2013, HONG KONG – China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is pleased to organize a special luncheon panel at the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong hotel, to present a group of insiders, professionals and industry elites from the environment field to share their perspectives as well as projections regarding Hong Kong’s green economy. Hong Kong, as an advanced economy has long strived to create an advanced environment for living, yet the trade-off between economic development and environmental benefits has long rooted within the city. The government recently has promoted largely on green economy which considered an innovative solution to the economy-environment issue. Meanwhile big companies are also joining pursuing more environment-friendly ways to do business. It is agreed that how green economy can guarantee both economic development and environment protection will gradually centre society’s attention. On the luncheon, we are delighted to have invited Ms. Christine LOH Kung-wai, Under Secretary for the environment, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as our keynote speaker, and the following prominent panellists from environment – related organizations and corporations to join the panel. They are: Ms. Alexandra Boakes TRACY, Chairman, Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia; Mr. Hendrik ROSENTHAL, Director – Policy and Research, Business Environment Council; Mr. Justin WU, Lead Analyst, Wind, Hong Kong Office, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Mr. Richard LANCASTER, Managing Director, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia. (www.cdroundtable.com)
2013-01-21ASEAN is emerging as China's top trade partner, creating a flourishing trade and economic zone marked by diversity and underpinned by economic opportunity. While challenges remain, particularly in building political ties as strong as the economic ties that already bind China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the economic activity to, from and within the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) is one of the more visible drivers of global economic growth. ASEAN has already become the preferred foreign destination for Chinese entrepreneurs and by 2015, ASEAN will become China's top trading partner with trade topping $500 billion, said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific in opening a workshop entitled "China-ASEAN Business Partnership" on Tuesday at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. The workshop was co-sponsored by China Daily. A group of speakers from across the region discussed the growing importance of ASEAN, its push for integration and its ties with China. China's cumulative investment in ASEAN reached $18.8 billion by the middle of 2012. Direct investment in 2011 topped $7 billion, up from $3.26 billion in 2002. In Malaysia, alone, Chinese investors poured $370 million in 2011, up from $66 million in 2010. "The dynamism and growth of the world now rest on China and ASEAN," said Vachara Phanchet, chairman emeritus of the Pacific Basin Economic Council and a former Thai trade representative. "We take our inspiration from the EU," said Phanchet, but there is no discussion as yet of a single economic union. ASEAN has a population of 600 million people spread across 10 countries. The "ASEAN Blueprint" calls for goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labor to flow freely among all 10 areas. In 2010, ASEAN had a GDP of $1.86 trillion and total trade of $2 trillion, along with foreign investment of $76 billion, of which $2.86 billion came from China. Internet connectivity is rising rapidly. While duties are increasingly rare, the group is shifting from a focus on goods exports to exports of capital. There are investment opportunities in raw materials, technology and skilled but inexpensive labor in such areas as accountancy services, engineering, nursing, and others. China has, in the last few years, increasingly invested in these areas. Across China, interest in ASEAN is wide. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for example, wants to boost both development and trade, said Huang Wei, vice-chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region who participated in the workshop. Xinjiang, which accounts for about a sixth of China's area, has a relatively small population of 25 million, a deep pool of natural resources, and, since 2010, has had rapid development. Integration is key For ASEAN, integration with other countries is key. Efforts such as ASEAN+3, which include China, Japan and South Korea, or ASEAN+6, which would add India, Australia and New Zealand to that mix, are part of this push for international integration. The ASEAN+6 initiative, also known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, could lead to the creation of the largest single free-trade market on the planet. "It is not exactly unified, but we can make the diversification a beauty," said Phanchet. "ASEAN has moved forward, but not so economically." For this particular group, the focus was on the relationship between China and ASEAN, one that has rapidly attracted businesses from across the region from food producers such as Thailand's CP Foods to airlines such as Malaysia's Air Asia. There are a lot of businesses in ASEAN working with China, said Lee Kim Yew, founder of the Malaysian property conglomerate Country Heights Group. "Eastern people have a capability of creating new products, new services, that can service our society," said Lee. "The way forward, if we want to continue to promote China-ASEAN business partnership, is to pay attention to the values and the culture that Asian people hold to heart." Trust is key, said Lee: "Promoting multiculturalism is key to promoting trust and business." Although there is great diversity within ASEAN, there are also some common elements. One of them is the large pockets of people of Chinese descent in every country. "This can play a very important catalyst for China to enter ASEAN or for ASEAN to enter China," said Lee. Asian view An Asian view of business and life is another defining characteristic. ASEAN is a group of rice-eating countries, and a group of durian eating nations, said Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, editor-in-chief of Jakarta Post, but it is also, he said quoting Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, "a group of relatives who frequently visit each other". "We are growing through a phase of competition, interdependence and then cooperation," said Suryodiningrat. There are challenges, however, to complete integration. Government officials like to point out that ASEAN and China are natural trading partners but they are still competitors. "Every country, within its economic arrangements, is trying to find its niche," said Suryodiningrat. "It is a shift that is very painful to many and very beneficial to some." Another challenge is that while economic relations are increasingly hot, political ties often remain cool. Disputes over territory can spill out in the form of disputes over trade. "Nobody is going to go to war," said Suryodiningrat, "but in the short to medium term there are implications In the short term there is a political dimension to how you do business in this region." He said business people should consider three areas before doing business in ASEAN countries: Political stability, the efficiency of governments in pushing legislative agendas and legal certainty. One has to look no further than Myanmar to see the impact of growth. Myanmar is experiencing rapid economic growth, after pushing through a series of political reforms, thanks in part to its membership in ASEAN and links with China. China and Hong Kong are the largest single investors in Myanmar. Thailand, another ASEAN member, is second. Myanmar's foreign trade topped $13 billion in 2012, a large part of its $50 billion GDP. Shifts in the country's laws are allowing for greater international investment. "To attract more foreign direct investment, the government has drafted a special economic zone law," said Kyaw Hlaing, president of Myanmar Survey Research. Three such zones are currently being built with Chinese help. The "greatly underestimated" openness of the Chinese economy is also driving forward trade with ASEAN, said Xiang Bing, dean of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. China is the top trading partner for ASEAN, India, Brazil and the second largest for the US. China "has the stomach" for massive operations by foreign multinationals, he said. Few other countries do. In each major economy in the world, national companies dominate but not in China. Germany's Volkswagen is a prominent automaker. South Korea's Samsung is a powerful mobile phone manufacturer and distributor. "Exports by Wal-Mart China were more than 10 percent of all exports out of China," said Xiang. But openness, by itself, is not enough. Trust is also key. "Build trust and business builds up," said Zaman Ahmad, group head of Customer Experience and Technology at AirAsia ASEAN. AirAsia flies more than 52,000 people out of China every week thanks to low cost air travel and the growing number of open links between countries in the region. These air links benefit not just travelers but to the economies that set them up. Tourism dollars have a large multiplier effect. Every tourist dollar accounts for US$6 or US$7 for the local economy. For both China and ASEAN, the economic benefit could be enormous while nine low-cost air carriers in the region could find significant benefits as well. In China today there are 80 million citizens who travel overseas every year, said Ahmad. That could hit 175 million by 2016. In ASEAN, more than 60 million travel outside of ASEAN every year, many of them go to China. Many of them travel for business, as a way to build trust through face-to-face communication. Will teleconferencing and other means of long distance communication take over as a means of building these relationships? "The answer is no," said Ahmad. Hong Kong's key role Another important aspect of the relationship is the flow of money. In this aspect, Hong Kong plays a key role, said Jonathan Choi, Chairman of Sunwah Group and former chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. "We have to understand that if we talk about ASEAN and China we cannot forget Hong Kong," said Choi. Hong Kong, with its open borders and ease of business, along with fluid flow of money, can be the oil in the engine of business and economic growth. In 2011, Hong Kong made a formal request to join the ASEAN-China free trade area, said Victoria Tang, associate director-general of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, an investment promotion agency. Trade between Hong Kong and ASEAN tops $360 billion while much of China's investment in the region is financed through Hong Kong. "It is very important to understand that businessmen in Hong Kong are part of China and very related to ASEAN countries," noted Choi. Like all other parts of this equation, Hong Kong can also benefit from the links. It is all part of keeping growth in China, ASEAN and Asia on the right track. "There are so many investment opportunities in ASEAN countries. We are talking about connectivity. We are talking about a boundless investment community," said Choi. "Everybody agrees that this is the Asian century." Source: http://www.chinadailyapac.com/article/greater-heights-china-asean-ties
2013-01-21China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable & In partnership with India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) Partnering with India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC), China Daily organized the Asia Leadership Roundtable to discuss on Opportunities for China-India in Strategic Business Partnership. Over the past decades, the world has witnessed unprecedentedly rapid growth in both China and India, and the rest of the globe has kept a watchful eye on the growing business partnership between the two world biggest developing nations. However, Indian and Chinese businesses have yet to use combined strength to gain from fast growing domestic markets. Roundtable Co-Chairs: Mr. P.S. DEODHAR, President, India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) Mr. ZHOU Li, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, China Daily Asia Pacific Highlighted Panelists: Prof. Mohammed SAQIB, Secretary-General, India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) Mr. ZHENG Xinli, Permanent Vice Chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges Mr. Jagat SHAH, Chairman, Global Network Mr. Kaushal SAMPAT, CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd Mr. Sabyasachi MITRA, Principal Economist, Asian Development Bank Mr. YAO Weimin (Rajiv), Vice-President, Huawei Telecommunications India Pvt Ltd Dr. TONG Jisheng, Deputy President, Shanghai Construction Group Mr. Gene Y.F. ZHENG, VP, Shanghai SFECO Group Mr. SUN Xiang, CEO, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Mumbai Branch) Mr. Ranjan GARG, Vice-President, Supply Chain, HT Media Limited Ms. WANG Dan, Deputy Director General, Monetary Policy Department, People’s Bank of China Ms. XU Ning, Secretary-General, Chamber of Chinese Enterprise in India (Mumbai) Source: http://www.newstrendz.tk/
2012-11-27“Opportunities for China-India Strategic Business Partnership” Mumbai (Nov 27, 2012): China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable, in partnership with India China Economic and Cultural Council, is to organize a special luncheon panel on Nov 27, 2012 at the Trident Hotel, Mumbai, gathering a group of top business leaders from China and India companies to address issues in the bilateral trade and business relations. Over the past decades, the world has witnessed unprecedented rapid growth in both China and India.The rest of the globe has kept a watchful eye on the growing business partnership between the two biggest developing nations. However, Indian and Chinese businesses have yet to use combined strength to gain from fast growing domestic markets. It is mainly a result of lack of communication and knowledge about opportunities, policies and procedures. “Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs must form mutually beneficial partnerships, joint ventures, exchanges of technologies and foster greater mutual FDI flow to boost bilateral trade. A joint effort is needed to develop social interaction to achieve faster economic and commercial cooperation,” said Mr. Zhou Li, the roundtable co-chair and also Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. This luncheon will bring together business leaders from the two countries, to discuss how best to strengthen economic ties and explore strategic business partnership. The panelists at today’s Roundtable include Mr. ZHENG Xinli, Permanent Vice Chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges; Mr. Jagat SHAH, Chairman, Global Network; Mr. YAO Weimin, Vice-President, Huawei Telecommunications India Pvt Ltd; Mr. Kaushal SAMPATH, CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd; Mr. SUN Xiang, CEO, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Mumbai Branch); Dr. TONG Jisheng, Deputy President, Shanghai Construction Group; Mr. Sabyasachi MITRA, Principal Economist, Asian Development Bank, Mr. Ranjan GARG, Vice-President, Supply Chain, HT Media Limited; Ms. WANG Dan, Deputy Director General, Monetary Policy Department II, People’s Bank of China and Ms. XU Ning, Secretary-General, Chamber of Chinese Enterprise in India (Mumbai) etc. ### About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is an invitation only network of leading decision makers in Asia. The roundtable gatherings serve as platforms for focused dialogues, and to initiate collective endeavors on strategic concerns regarding economics, business and social development in Asia. Its aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries. (www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable) About India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) ICEC was set up in 2003 with the primary goal of giving more muscle to the relationship between India and China: To ensure that the two governments, our societies and the people understand and address each others’ needs resulting in common goals. (http://www.icec-council.org/)
2012-11-27If China and India can remove some hurdles and work together more closely, they will be able to change the whole world, participants told the “Opportunities for China-Indian Strategic Business Partnership” forum in Mumbai on Tuesday. Though China is India’s largest trade partner, there is not much collaboration in other fields. Meanwhile, business relations are often obstructed with unfavorable government policies and misconceptions. “As Asia is hailed as the savior of the world economy, China and India are emerging as the first-tier world economic giants. However, the bilateral trade volume and business activities between the two pale in comparison with their respective weight in world economy,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. The luncheon panel discussion was co-hosted by China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable, an invitation only network of Asian decision makers, and the India-China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC), an Indian non-governmental organization. Representatives from leading Chinese companies in India, like the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Mumbai branch), ZTE Telecom India and power giant TBEA Energy India, laid on the table the opportunities they foresee, the challenges they face and suggestions as to what can be done to create better synergy between Chinese and Indian companies. Cui Liangjun, CEO of ZTE Telecom India, said the company, which arrived in India in 1999, has almost all India telecom operators as its customers. While there is huge potential in India, especially in the rural areas where mobile phone penetration is less than 20 percent in some places, there are also hurdles like visa difficulties and security issues. However, ZTE remains optimistic and will be seeking to expand its operations in the next few years from the telecom sector to power, education and railways. TBEA General Manager Liu Wei mentioned taxation problems the company faced initially. Now with its factory being built in western Gujarat state, there are problems with labor and subcontractors, he said. “Despite the challenges, if China and India work together they will change the world,” said Zheng Xinli, permanent vice-chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Outlining some of the areas in which the two countries can work together, Zheng advocated matching Indian software expertise with Chinese hardware skills, saying the synergy can change the global information and communication technology. Other areas include financial services, energy and infrastructure, he added. “Chinese and Indian companies should work together to form merger and acquisitions overseas,” he said. “Both India and China can go overseas together to acquire natural resources like mines and oil and gas.” Kaushal Sampat, president and CEO-India at Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India, suggested joint ventures can be a way of gaining greater acceptance in India. “When I visited power stations in India, I saw a large part of the equipment was made by Chinese companies. Why can’t they be made in India?” That, he said, will get greater acceptance from the industry, local governments as well as local standard implementing authorities. ICEC President P S Deodhar suggested Chinese and Indian companies co-produce international brands that will not be subject to regulatory issues. The Indian experts advised Chinese companies to hire consultants’ help in advance to avoid misunderstandings. India-based consulting firm E J McKay and Co was set up initially to advise Indian companies on investing in China. About five years ago, the company began advising Chinese companies on investments in India, said Kamal Rungta, the company’s managing director. “Sany, one of the largest construction companies in China, invested in Pune (after consultations),” he said. “It is important to have an experienced adviser. Then the chances of success are higher.” sarkar@chinadailyapac.com Source: http://www.chinadailyapac.com/article/china-india-can-change-world
2012-11-27MUMBAI - A high-level and professional forum has discussed how to build China-India businessstrategic and cooperative relationship, and promote the economic development of the twocountries. More than 30 representatives attended the China-India Business Strategy and CooperationOpportunity Forum in India's financial hub Mumbai on Tuesday, which is hosted by China DailyAsia Leadership Roundtable and India-China association for the promotion of economy andculture. In the opening ceremony, P.S. Deodhar, chairman of India-China association for the promotionof economy and culture, said India and China should become cooperative partners notbusiness rivals, and the current first priority for the two countries is to seek strategiccooperation. Zhang Guobao, director of consultancy association for China national energy committee,agreed with what Mr.Deodhar said. He said China and India has a long-standing cooperation. Though China is widely consideredas the most important investor among many Asian developing economies, in fact, manyinvestment projects are fulfilled with the cooperation between the two countries. The prospect of mutual cooperation between the two countries is good, especially intelecommunication and finance, which will undoubtedly brings actual benefits to China andIndia, said Zheng Xinli, vice chairman of China Center for International Economic Exchanges. He suggested that China and India launch and build Asia investment bank and Asia agriculturebank, which is discussed and justified by the Brics, or major five emerging economies, and it willbring about new opportunity for strengthening regional economic cooperation and thedevelopment of the Asian economy as a whole. When it comes to the problems that Chinese companies always face in India, such as taxationand employee visa, Indian participants brainstormed and came up with new better ways.Moreover, they expressed their willingness to cooperate with Chinese counterparts. China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is established on the success of the China Daily CEORoundtable (established in 2004). Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-11/28/content_15966300.htm
2012-11-27Despite significant growth over the past 15 years, Hong Kong faces the challenge of redefining itself in the context of a more integrated Asia and an evolving Chinese mainland. “The whole region (grew) in the past 15 years at a reasonably high spee Author: Alfred Romann Despite significant growth over the past 15 years, Hong Kong faces the challenge of redefining itself in the context of a more integrated Asia and an evolving Chinese mainland. “The whole region (grew) in the past 15 years at a reasonably high speed,” said Prof Edward K.Y. Chen, distinguished fellow at the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong. While gross domestic product growth in most Asian countries averaged 5 to 6 percent, the Chinese mainland had been growing at close to 10 percent. Hong Kong averaged 3.6 percent growth. “But accompanying economic growth in the region we also observe instability and growing inequality, with maybe two exceptions,” Chen added. “China is always stable and also growing very fast. The other exception is Japan, very stable but growing very slowly.” Instability is hard to avoid. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 created much of it. When the IT bubble burst in 2000, it led to more instability. The global financial crisis in 2008 was also a reason of instability. “Instability cannot be avoided,” Chen continued. “Of greater concern is increasing inequality… Hong Kong is not the only case.” Across Asia, the Gini Coefficient, that measures inequality, increased from about .4 to nearly .46 in the past 15 years. On the Chinese mainland, the measure rose from about .32 to almost .46. In Hong Kong, the coefficient has risen from an already high .48 to .533. “Asian governments are not only concerned with removing absolute poverty, they (also) want to narrow the gap between rich and poor,” said Chen. Chen was speaking at the Asian Leadership Roundtable held as part of a series of events to mark the 15th anniversary of China Daily’s Hong Kong edition on Oct 8. He was one of nine top executives and intellectuals who gathered at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to discuss the path the city has taken since 1997 and the road ahead. “Hong Kong, The Road Ahead” was the latest in a series of roundtables launched two years ago to “discuss topics and issues of importance to regional development in Hong Kong, the mainland and the whole region”, said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief, China Daily’s Hong Kong edition. One area in which lack of government intervention has cost Hong Kong dearly is the development of science and technology. The city’s economy is not very diversified outside of finance, trading and service industries, said Prof Wong Yuk-Shan, vice-president, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “The element of science and technology in the Hong Kong economy is very minimal when compared with (other) economies in Southeast Asia, like South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore,” said Wong. “We need to have new economic driving engines to provide enough jobs to our young generation and maintain economic sustainability.” Although Hong Kong has good universities, with four ranked in the top 200 in the world, most of them are involved in basic research that does not translate into actual economic growth. “I believe there is a second chance for the development of science and technology,” said Wong. He suggested this can be done through the six local universities and thousands of qualified professors and researchers, the links with the Pearl River Delta and its visibly larger resources for research and development, and the growing number of research institutes that Hong Kong universities have set up in the southern part of the Chinese mainland. “We should pick up this second chance and aim at developing (science and technology) as another economic driver for Hong Kong,” said Wong. The contrast between the development of Hong Kong in science and technology and in other areas, such as finance and even luxury consumer retail, is remarkable. The Hong Kong luxury retail space has grown from a market that held two or three standalone luxury brand boutiques to a city that can sustain almost 10 luxury brands, said Dinesh Tandon, CEO for Asia Pacific North at Bally GC Retail. “This is much more than cities like London or Milan.” Though rents have gone through the roof, making Hong Kong one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world, on the other hand, sales per square foot along Canton Road, where many luxury brands are located, are among the highest in the world. “Some brands have a waiting list of almost a year for certain luxury products,” said Tandon. “At the core of this development (is) the (Chinese) mainland customer... At least 60 percent of the business for luxury brands comes from mainland Chinese customers.” For the luxury shopper, Hong Kong is visibly cheaper. Its status as a free port means similar products are 15 to 20 percent cheaper in Hong Kong than on the mainland or other countries in the region, like Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand, that have much higher duties. Another challenging area for Hong Kong is the environment. Air quality, in particular, has grown worse. The most visible case is roadside pollution, said Simon K. W. Ng, head of transport and sustainability research at Civic Exchange, a Hong Kong think tank. “We should be able to do better. We should be able to adopt a tighter standard in order to protect public health,” said Ng. The Hong Kong air pollution index is published daily but is often misunderstood. Better indexes, possibly linked directly to health, would help. “We need everyone to care about air quality before the government can put in place effective measures to control the air quality in Hong Kong,” said Ng. As the city changed and evolved considerably over the last 15 years, three events had a significant impact on the development, said Dr Eddy C. Fong, chairman, Securities and Futures Commission. The first was the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the second the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, and the most recent the global financial crisis in 2008. All three triggered significant changes, including the creation of a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement between Hong Kong, Macao and a dozen southern provinces on the mainland. Now the numbers speak for themselves. The Hang Seng Index has grown from about 10700 in 1997 to 21000 today, even after the impact of the global financial crisis. The number of companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has risen from 658 to 1,533 with a market capitalization of HK$19.6 trillion ($2.5 trillion) this year, up more than 514 percent on HK$3.2 trillion in 1997. Daily turnover on the stock exchange has also risen more than 240 percent from about HK$15 billion in 1997 to nearly HK$53 billion this year. Hong Kong’s media industry has also evolved considerably. Newspapers, radio and television stations and websites all have had to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Publishers face higher requirements for more sophisticated content, which is also socially responsible. “The biggest challenge over the next decade or so, in such a customer-liberated environment, is how to find an equilibrium,” said Dr William Wing-Yan Lo, vice-chairman of the South China Media Group. The film industry is also facing change and could benefit from the evolution of Hong Kong and the growing integration with the much larger market in the southern part of the Chinese mainland, said Ko Chi Sum, CEO and producer at Spring-Time Stage. The similarity of tastes between Hong Kong movie-goers and their peers in Guangdong, for example, opens up opportunities for local filmmakers, said Ko, a well-known director and industry executive. One of the great things about Hong Kong, said Dr Raymond K.F. Ch’ien, chairman of the MTR Corporation that operates the city’s mass transit system, is the opportunities it provides for expansion. Before 2007, the year MTR merged with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, it managed a network of less than 95 kilometers and moved less than 3 million passengers every day. Today, the company manages a network of almost 1,000 km and moves some 9 million passengers in operations in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, London and Stockholm, and will soon open a service in Hangzhou. Ch’ien believes Hong Kong should be a leader for the country, not only in areas like infrastructure but also in education, healthcare delivery. Greater integration with the Chinese mainland and increased participation in the global economy are the hallmarks of Hong Kong’s development not only over the last decade and a half but going forward. The challenge over the next decades, said Joe Ngai, managing partner at McKinsey & Company in Hong Kong, will revolve around Hong Kong’s role as a hub and its ability to continue leveraging this strength while addressing challenges such as education, the environment and inequality. “We have to be very proud of our ability as a hub,” said Ngai. “At the end of the day, we should be proud of having a much bigger impact than what we are ourselves.” http://www.chinadailyasia.com/
2012-10-08The last 15 years have, in terms of development, been good for Hong Kong. There have been some ups and downs, most notably as a result of the Asian Financial Crisis, the SARS outbreak and the global financial crisis, but the city has managed to develop and grow, along with much of the rest of Asia. But the past decade and a half has also brought a lot of change and Hong Kong is now facing a number of hurdles and the challenge of redefining itself in the context of a more integrated Asia and an evolving China. “The whole region has been growing, in the past 15 years, at a reasonably high speed,” said Professor Edward Chen, distinguished fellow at the Centre of Asia Studies of the University of Hong Kong. “Asian governments are not only concerned with removing absolute poverty, they want also to narrow the gap between rich and poor,” said Chen. Chen was speaking at the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable held as part of a series of events to mark the 15th anniversary of China Daily Hong Kong on October 8. He was one of nine top executives and intellectuals who gathered to discuss the path the city has taken since 1997 and the road ahead. “Hong Kong, Past Fifteen Years and the Road Ahead” was one more in a series of similar roundtables first launched two years ago to “discuss topics and issues of importance to regional development in Hong Kong, the mainland and the whole region,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Hong Kong. GDP growth in most Asian countries has averaged 5 to 6 percent, while the Chinese mainland has been growing at close to 10 percent and Hong Kong at an average of 3.6 percent. “But, accompanying economic growth in the region we also observe instability and growing inequality with maybe two exceptions. China is always stable and also growing very fast. The other exception is Japan, very stable but growing very slowly,” Chan said. Instability is hard to avoid. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 created much of it. When the IT bubble burst in 2000, it led to more instability, so did SARS in 2003. The global financial crisis in 2008 was also a cause for instability. “Instability cannot be avoided,” said Chen. “Of greater concern is increasing inequality together with economic growth in the region. Hong Kong is not the only case.” Across Asia, the Gini Coefficient that measures inequality, increased from about 0.4 to about 0.46 in the past 15 years. In the Chinese mainland, the measure has risen from about 0.32 to about 0.46 in the same period. In Hong Kong, the coefficient has risen from an already high 0.48 to 0.533. To maintain economic momentum and growth Hong Kong has to do two things, said Chen. The first is to increase economic cooperation and even integration with the mainland. (See sidebar) The second is to find a new niche for Hong Kong industries. He believes the current interpretation of the “positive non-intervention” principle that is at the core of Hong Kong’s economic system since 1979. “Positive non-intervention means no intervention when the results are positive. If the results are not positive, you should interfere,” said Chen. “They should go back to the original meaning.” One area in which the lack of government intervention has cost Hong Kong dearly is in the development of science and technology. The city’s economy is not very diversified outside of finance, trading and service industries said Prof Yuk-Shan Wong, vice-president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “The element of science and technology in the Hong Kong economy is very minimal when compared with economies in Southeast Asia like South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore,” said Wong. “We need to have new economic driving engines to provide enough jobs to our young generation and to maintain economic sustainability.” In general, Hong Kong has good universities, with four ranked in the top 200 in the world. However, most of these universities are involved in basic research that does not translate into actual economic growth. Scientists and researchers publish high-end papers in top scientific journals but it is more rare to see that abstract research translate into marketable products or patents. Neighboring economies like Taiwan and Singapore have been much more effective at converting science and technology progress into visible economic growth. Taiwan did it famously well in the production of electronics and integrated circuits through the 1980s. Singapore has taken a leap forward in medicine and pharmaceuticals. Hong Kong, by contrast, missed out on a golden opportunity to develop a science and technology powerhouse, losing out to neighbors that put both emphasis and resources in the sector, said Wong. But, the Special Administrative Region may have another opportunity now to develop this sector by leveraging its relationship with — and the growth of — southern China and the Pearl River Delta. “I believe there is a second chance for the development of science and technology,” said Wong. This could be done on the basis of six local universities and thousands of qualified professors and researchers, the links with the Pearl River Delta and its visibly larger resources for research and development and the growing number of research institutes that Hong Kong universities have set up in southern China. “We should pick up this second chance and aim at developing (science and technology) as another economic driver for Hong Kong,” said Wong. He believes the Hong Kong SAR government should take proactive leadership and develop a strong science policy, while business leaders and investors should be more long-sighted and positive on science and technology. The contrast between Hong Kong’s development in science and technology and in other areas such as finance and even luxury consumer retail is stark. As Wong lamented a shortage of long-sighted policies in Hong Kong for his field, a luxury retailer expounded at length about the impressive growth of the Hong Kong market. The Hong Kong luxury retail space has grown from a market that held two or three standalone luxury brand boutiques to a city that could sustain almost 10 luxury brands, said Dinesh Tandon, CEO for Asia Pacific at Bally GC Retail. This is much more than cities like London or Milan. “Some brands have a waiting list of almost a year for certain luxury products,” said Tandon. “At the core of this development was the mainland customer... At least 60 percent of the business for luxury brands comes from mainland Chinese customers.” However, there are also challenges even for a retail sector that has experienced unparalleled growth. The most visible challenge is the real estate cost. Rents have gone through the roof, making Hong Kong one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. Real estate challenges are, of course, not exclusive to luxury retailers. The property cost is a regular topic of discussion and one of the factors that contributes to the city’s high Gini Coefficient. Another challenging, and often ignored, hurdle that the city faces is the environment. Air quality, in particular, has grown much worse over the past decade and a half, even as manufacturing has move to the mainland. The most visible case in point is roadside pollution, said Simon Ng, head of transport and sustainability research at Civic Exchange. “We should be able to do better. We should be able to adopt a tighter standard in order to protect public health,” said Ng. The Hong Kong air pollution index is published daily but is often misunderstood. Just about everybody in the city keeps track of the Hang Seng Index of stocks but very few follow the air quality index, in part because few actually known what it means. “We need everyone to care about air quality before the government can put in place effective measures to control the air quality in Hong Kong,” said Ng. Without a doubt, the city has changed and evolved considerably over the last 15 years. Three significant events have had a significant impact on Hong Kong’s development in that period, said Dr Eddy Fong, chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The first was the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the second was the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and the most recent was the global financial crisis in 2008. All three events posed significant changes, including the creation of the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the mainland. Numbers speak for themselves. The Hang Seng Index has grown from about 10700 in 1997 to 21000 today, even after the impact of the global financial crisis. The number of companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has risen from 658 to 1,533 with a market capitalization of HK$3.2 trillion in 1997 to HK$19.6 trillion this year, up more than 514 percent. Daily turnover on the stock exchange has also risen more than 240 percent from about HK$15 billion in 1997 to about HK$53 billion this year (and this is down from almost double that in the heydays of 2007). “We have to work with the mainland). We have to work with the rest of the world. This is the survival element of Hong Kong,” said Fong. “We are international but really, what we have, is a good platform for international liquidity and funds to come in. If we don’t have a good platform nobody will have trust and confidence in Hong Kong.” Hong Kong’s media industry has also evolved considerably. Newspapers, radio and television stations and websites all have had to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Readers are less willing to pay for content but publishers face higher requirements for more sophisticated content, content that is socially responsible. “The biggest challenge over the next decade or so, in such a customer liberated environment, is how to find an equilibrium,” said Dr William Lo, vice-Chairman of the South China Media Group. The film industry is also facing change, said Ko Chi Sum, CEO & Producer at Spring-Time Stage, and could benefit from the evolution of Hong Kong and growing integration with the much larger market in southern China. The similarity of tastes between Hong Kong movie-goers and their peers in Guangdong, for example, open up an opportunity for local filmmakers, said Ko, a well-known director and industry executive. One of the great things about Hong Kong, said Dr Raymond K F Ch’ien, chairman of the MTR Corporation that operates the city’s mass transit system, is the opportunities it provides for expansion. “Given a chance and the right environment where you can be financially sustainable, you can sustain really rapid growth,” said Ch’ien. Before 2007, the year MTR merged with KCRC, the MTR company managed a network of less than 95 km and moved less than 3 million passengers every day. Today, the company manages a network of almost 1,000 km and moves some 9 million passengers in operations in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, London and Stockholm and will soon open a service in Hangzhou. Ch’ien believes Hong Kong should be a leader for the mainland, not only in areas like infrastructure but also in education, and health care delivery. “We can really help the mainland to become one of the global leaders,” said Ch’ien. “That’s what gives Hong Kong sustainability and scalability.” Greater integration with the mainland and increased participation in the global economy are the hallmarks of Hong Kong’s development not only over the last decade and a half but going forward. The challenge over the next decades, said Joe Ngai, managing partner at McKinsey & Company Hong Kong, will revolve around Hong Kong’s role as a hub and its ability to continue leveraging this strength while addressing the challenges facing the city in areas such as education, the environment and inequality. “We have to be very proud of our ability as a hub,” said Ngai. “At the end of the day, we should be proud of having a much bigger impact than what we are ourselves.” Full PDF version downloads: www.cdroundtable.com/pdf/20121002-H2-H3.pdf
2012-10-08中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「香港:十五年回顧與前瞻」 香港灣仔博覽道一號 香港會議展覽中心S221室 2012年10月8日上午11:45至下午2:30 二零一二年十月八日,香港 中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇於二零一二年十月八日在香港會議展覽中心舉辦專題午餐會,來自不同戰略行業的專家演講嘉賓將為大家分享真知灼見。各位嘉賓將會從各自行業的角度回顧香港過去十五年該行業的發展,並展望未來五年的發展挑戰及機遇。本次午餐會將邀請來自政府、商界、學界、非牟利機構及媒體界的領袖,包括亞洲新聞聯盟的主編。亞洲新聞聯盟是由亞洲19個國家和地區21家主流媒體構成的新聞聯盟,是全球最大的媒體及出版行業協會之一。本次專題討論將以英文進行(將會提供同聲傳譯),並會向本地、區域及國際媒體開放。 確認演講嘉賓: 區域經濟: 陳坤耀教授,香港大學亞洲研究中心傑出院士 金融服務: 方正博士, 證券及期貨事務監察委員會主席 公共運輸: 錢果豐博士,香港鐵路有限公司主席 媒體及出版: 盧永仁博士,南華傳媒集團副主席 電影製作: 高志森先生,【春天舞台】監製 高等教育: 黃玉山教授,香港科技大學副校長 奢侈品及零售: 唐德安先生,Bally北亞太區執行總裁 公共政策智庫: 吳家穎先生,思匯政策研究所運輸及可持續發展研究主管 策略諮詢: 倪以理先生,麥肯錫香港分公司總經理 關於《中國日報香港版》 《中國日報香港版》創刊於1997年,以其本地化、獨特的報道視角成為香港、澳門和部分亞洲國家和地區高端讀者的重要讀物。讀者包括香港特別行政區政府官員、金融機構和跨國企業CEO、高級管理人員、外交官員、智庫和學者等。香港以其特殊的區位優勢,在連通世界與中國內地方面發揮著重要作用。《中國日報香港版》為展現包括港澳地區在內的中國當前經濟、社會飛速發展提供了良好的視角;以其第一手的資訊和敏銳的觀察力,成為讀者洞悉中國內地蓬勃發展最直接、最權威的信息源。二零一二年適逢香港特別行政區回歸十五周年。過去十五年,《中國日報香港版》見證了香港特區經濟及社會運動的發展,同時也迎來了《中國日報香港版》的十五周年報慶。 關於中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇」(www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable) 旨在搭建一個由亞洲國家和地區的政、商、學界領袖和社會精英參與的高端對話和交流平台,圍繞亞洲地區經濟、商業、產業和社會發展等具有戰略影響的重要議題展開討論和分享見解,以增進中國與亞洲和西方國家的交流和理解。
2012-10-08The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations aspires toward regional economic integration by 2015 and to form the ASEAN Economic Community. To facilitate this, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum will bring together CEOs from China's most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The forum will see leaders from key sectors including technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share ideas on how to realize their business potential and work together as strategic partners. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economy, business and social development in Asia. News source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-09/21/content_15774561.htm
2012-09-21China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum Sept 21, Kuala Lumpur As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aspires to regional economic integration by 2015 and form the ASEAN Economic Community, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum is delighted to bring together CEOs from China’s most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum will see leaders from key sectors such as technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share insights on how to realize their immense business potential and work together as strategic business partners. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. It aims to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding among China, other Asian countries and Western countries. Established in 2004 following the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable, it is supported by the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance, inspired by the philosophy of “helping 100 private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500”, was founded by Feng Jun, chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs who are leaders in their respective fields. The alliance aims to promote leading brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector and help them become global leaders with contributions to corporate citizens worldwide. The panel at the forum includes Feng Jun, chairman and president, Aigo Digital Technology, Zheng Jingbo, president, Bank of China (Malaysia), and Lindsay Zhang Lingzhi, ZTE’s HR director, Asia-Pacific region. Tan Chee Chai, director of Metal and Fabrication Industries Division, Malaysian Investment Development Authority, will deliver the welcome address. We are pleased to have The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Chinese Enterprises Association in Malaysia and Malaysia Chamber of Commerce as supporting organizations and China Daily, Sin Chew Daily, Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd and Asian News Network as media partners. Details of the event: Date: 21/9/2012 (Friday) Time: 11:45 – 15:00 Venue: Prince Room 1, Level 3, Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur Moderator: Alexander Wan – Senior Advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable was created as a result of the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable (established in 2004, http://ceoroundtable.chinadaily.com) and with the support of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions (http://www.asianewsnet.net). The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries. About Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance Based on the overarching idea of “helping one hundred private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500,” the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance (http://aea.aigo.com) was founded by Feng Jun, Chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs that are leaders in their respective fields. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance aims to promote leading Chinese brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector. AEA is driven by the goal of helping more private Chinese businesses become truly global enterprises and contributing corporate citizens worldwide.
2012-09-21Ctrip.com International Ltd, the leading on-line travel services provider in China, will speed up its overseas tour market expansion to cash in on the country’s growing outbound tourism, Chief Executive Officer Fan Min told China Daily on the sideline of the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao. Market competition within the tourism sector is intense in the mainland these days, and oversupply has become an issue haunting the industry, Fan said, adding that some real needs remain unsatisfied as “fine service systems are not easy to set up”, particularly high-end products catering to the needs of the rich. The Nasdaq-listed company will continue to boost sales through its traditional on-line platform, which has provided ample and clear choices to clients. At the same time, “off-line sales” have also been put onto the shelves, including premium winery tours, which aim to serve the growing wealthy population’s needs in the country, according to Fan. “Our outbound tourism services are also expected to surge rapidly on buoyant demand, although it remains a relatively small portion of the whole cake of the group currently,” Fan said in Macao on Monday, without elaborating on the exact proportion of their outbound tourism within all their current products. Ctrip’s focus on high-end tourism products was not just a recent move. At the end of April this year, the company had announced its acquisition of Trip TM, a four-year-old hyper-luxury vacation operator to “help realize Ctrip’s goal to corner half the market share of the top-end tours in the country”. “Ctrip currently serves millions of clients in China, but the potential consumers in the market could be tens of that,” Fan added. The outbound travel markets maintained strong growth momentum in the mainland over the years with the number of outbound travelers growing by 22.85 percent year-on-year to 70.25 million in 2011, and the figure surged by another 20 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, according to the China Outbound Tourism Yearbook 2012, which estimated the number to reach 100 million by the year of 2015. Although the travel-service provider aims at a breakthrough in outbound products and high-end tours, Fan admitted that Ctrip is cautious with its expansion plans. He added that the Greater China tourism services remained the cornerstone of the group, and “solid business foundation in China will make the go-out plan much easier.” The chief executive officer, who is still bullish on the market outlook despite the slowdown of the overall mainland economy, acknowledged that some consumers may be tight with money, but he believes that people’s travel plans would not be scrapped during hard times, but rather they would probably choose some cheaper itinerary to relieve their boredom instead. China is widely anticipated to overtake Germany and the US to become the world’s largest source of outbound travelers by the end of this year, Matt Thompson, project director for the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market, said at a tourism fair held in Beijing this April. Thompson predicted some 78 million Chinese will travel overseas in 2012, with the consumption generated from outbound tourism to hit a record high of $80 billion this year. litao@chinadailyhk.com By Li Tao
2012-09-1121 January 2013, HONG KONG – China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is pleased to organize a special luncheon panel at the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong hotel, to present a group of insiders, professionals and industry elites from the environment field to share their perspectives as well as projections regarding Hong Kong’s green economy. Hong Kong, as an advanced economy has long strived to create an advanced environment for living, yet the trade-off between economic development and environmental benefits has long rooted within the city. The government recently has promoted largely on green economy which considered an innovative solution to the economy-environment issue. Meanwhile big companies are also joining pursuing more environment-friendly ways to do business. It is agreed that how green economy can guarantee both economic development and environment protection will gradually centre society’s attention. On the luncheon, we are delighted to have invited Ms. Christine LOH Kung-wai, Under Secretary for the environment, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as our keynote speaker, and the following prominent panellists from environment – related organizations and corporations to join the panel. They are: Ms. Alexandra Boakes TRACY, Chairman, Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia; Mr. Hendrik ROSENTHAL, Director – Policy and Research, Business Environment Council; Mr. Justin WU, Lead Analyst, Wind, Hong Kong Office, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Mr. Richard LANCASTER, Managing Director, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited. About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, Asian and Western countries. Roundtable events are held in major cities across Asia. (www.cdroundtable.com)
2013-01-21ASEAN is emerging as China's top trade partner, creating a flourishing trade and economic zone marked by diversity and underpinned by economic opportunity. While challenges remain, particularly in building political ties as strong as the economic ties that already bind China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the economic activity to, from and within the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) is one of the more visible drivers of global economic growth. ASEAN has already become the preferred foreign destination for Chinese entrepreneurs and by 2015, ASEAN will become China's top trading partner with trade topping $500 billion, said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific in opening a workshop entitled "China-ASEAN Business Partnership" on Tuesday at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. The workshop was co-sponsored by China Daily. A group of speakers from across the region discussed the growing importance of ASEAN, its push for integration and its ties with China. China's cumulative investment in ASEAN reached $18.8 billion by the middle of 2012. Direct investment in 2011 topped $7 billion, up from $3.26 billion in 2002. In Malaysia, alone, Chinese investors poured $370 million in 2011, up from $66 million in 2010. "The dynamism and growth of the world now rest on China and ASEAN," said Vachara Phanchet, chairman emeritus of the Pacific Basin Economic Council and a former Thai trade representative. "We take our inspiration from the EU," said Phanchet, but there is no discussion as yet of a single economic union. ASEAN has a population of 600 million people spread across 10 countries. The "ASEAN Blueprint" calls for goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labor to flow freely among all 10 areas. In 2010, ASEAN had a GDP of $1.86 trillion and total trade of $2 trillion, along with foreign investment of $76 billion, of which $2.86 billion came from China. Internet connectivity is rising rapidly. While duties are increasingly rare, the group is shifting from a focus on goods exports to exports of capital. There are investment opportunities in raw materials, technology and skilled but inexpensive labor in such areas as accountancy services, engineering, nursing, and others. China has, in the last few years, increasingly invested in these areas. Across China, interest in ASEAN is wide. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for example, wants to boost both development and trade, said Huang Wei, vice-chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region who participated in the workshop. Xinjiang, which accounts for about a sixth of China's area, has a relatively small population of 25 million, a deep pool of natural resources, and, since 2010, has had rapid development. Integration is key For ASEAN, integration with other countries is key. Efforts such as ASEAN+3, which include China, Japan and South Korea, or ASEAN+6, which would add India, Australia and New Zealand to that mix, are part of this push for international integration. The ASEAN+6 initiative, also known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, could lead to the creation of the largest single free-trade market on the planet. "It is not exactly unified, but we can make the diversification a beauty," said Phanchet. "ASEAN has moved forward, but not so economically." For this particular group, the focus was on the relationship between China and ASEAN, one that has rapidly attracted businesses from across the region from food producers such as Thailand's CP Foods to airlines such as Malaysia's Air Asia. There are a lot of businesses in ASEAN working with China, said Lee Kim Yew, founder of the Malaysian property conglomerate Country Heights Group. "Eastern people have a capability of creating new products, new services, that can service our society," said Lee. "The way forward, if we want to continue to promote China-ASEAN business partnership, is to pay attention to the values and the culture that Asian people hold to heart." Trust is key, said Lee: "Promoting multiculturalism is key to promoting trust and business." Although there is great diversity within ASEAN, there are also some common elements. One of them is the large pockets of people of Chinese descent in every country. "This can play a very important catalyst for China to enter ASEAN or for ASEAN to enter China," said Lee. Asian view An Asian view of business and life is another defining characteristic. ASEAN is a group of rice-eating countries, and a group of durian eating nations, said Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, editor-in-chief of Jakarta Post, but it is also, he said quoting Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, "a group of relatives who frequently visit each other". "We are growing through a phase of competition, interdependence and then cooperation," said Suryodiningrat. There are challenges, however, to complete integration. Government officials like to point out that ASEAN and China are natural trading partners but they are still competitors. "Every country, within its economic arrangements, is trying to find its niche," said Suryodiningrat. "It is a shift that is very painful to many and very beneficial to some." Another challenge is that while economic relations are increasingly hot, political ties often remain cool. Disputes over territory can spill out in the form of disputes over trade. "Nobody is going to go to war," said Suryodiningrat, "but in the short to medium term there are implications In the short term there is a political dimension to how you do business in this region." He said business people should consider three areas before doing business in ASEAN countries: Political stability, the efficiency of governments in pushing legislative agendas and legal certainty. One has to look no further than Myanmar to see the impact of growth. Myanmar is experiencing rapid economic growth, after pushing through a series of political reforms, thanks in part to its membership in ASEAN and links with China. China and Hong Kong are the largest single investors in Myanmar. Thailand, another ASEAN member, is second. Myanmar's foreign trade topped $13 billion in 2012, a large part of its $50 billion GDP. Shifts in the country's laws are allowing for greater international investment. "To attract more foreign direct investment, the government has drafted a special economic zone law," said Kyaw Hlaing, president of Myanmar Survey Research. Three such zones are currently being built with Chinese help. The "greatly underestimated" openness of the Chinese economy is also driving forward trade with ASEAN, said Xiang Bing, dean of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. China is the top trading partner for ASEAN, India, Brazil and the second largest for the US. China "has the stomach" for massive operations by foreign multinationals, he said. Few other countries do. In each major economy in the world, national companies dominate but not in China. Germany's Volkswagen is a prominent automaker. South Korea's Samsung is a powerful mobile phone manufacturer and distributor. "Exports by Wal-Mart China were more than 10 percent of all exports out of China," said Xiang. But openness, by itself, is not enough. Trust is also key. "Build trust and business builds up," said Zaman Ahmad, group head of Customer Experience and Technology at AirAsia ASEAN. AirAsia flies more than 52,000 people out of China every week thanks to low cost air travel and the growing number of open links between countries in the region. These air links benefit not just travelers but to the economies that set them up. Tourism dollars have a large multiplier effect. Every tourist dollar accounts for US$6 or US$7 for the local economy. For both China and ASEAN, the economic benefit could be enormous while nine low-cost air carriers in the region could find significant benefits as well. In China today there are 80 million citizens who travel overseas every year, said Ahmad. That could hit 175 million by 2016. In ASEAN, more than 60 million travel outside of ASEAN every year, many of them go to China. Many of them travel for business, as a way to build trust through face-to-face communication. Will teleconferencing and other means of long distance communication take over as a means of building these relationships? "The answer is no," said Ahmad. Hong Kong's key role Another important aspect of the relationship is the flow of money. In this aspect, Hong Kong plays a key role, said Jonathan Choi, Chairman of Sunwah Group and former chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. "We have to understand that if we talk about ASEAN and China we cannot forget Hong Kong," said Choi. Hong Kong, with its open borders and ease of business, along with fluid flow of money, can be the oil in the engine of business and economic growth. In 2011, Hong Kong made a formal request to join the ASEAN-China free trade area, said Victoria Tang, associate director-general of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, an investment promotion agency. Trade between Hong Kong and ASEAN tops $360 billion while much of China's investment in the region is financed through Hong Kong. "It is very important to understand that businessmen in Hong Kong are part of China and very related to ASEAN countries," noted Choi. Like all other parts of this equation, Hong Kong can also benefit from the links. It is all part of keeping growth in China, ASEAN and Asia on the right track. "There are so many investment opportunities in ASEAN countries. We are talking about connectivity. We are talking about a boundless investment community," said Choi. "Everybody agrees that this is the Asian century." Source: http://www.chinadailyapac.com/article/greater-heights-china-asean-ties
2013-01-21China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable & In partnership with India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) Partnering with India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC), China Daily organized the Asia Leadership Roundtable to discuss on Opportunities for China-India in Strategic Business Partnership. Over the past decades, the world has witnessed unprecedentedly rapid growth in both China and India, and the rest of the globe has kept a watchful eye on the growing business partnership between the two world biggest developing nations. However, Indian and Chinese businesses have yet to use combined strength to gain from fast growing domestic markets. Roundtable Co-Chairs: Mr. P.S. DEODHAR, President, India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) Mr. ZHOU Li, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, China Daily Asia Pacific Highlighted Panelists: Prof. Mohammed SAQIB, Secretary-General, India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) Mr. ZHENG Xinli, Permanent Vice Chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges Mr. Jagat SHAH, Chairman, Global Network Mr. Kaushal SAMPAT, CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd Mr. Sabyasachi MITRA, Principal Economist, Asian Development Bank Mr. YAO Weimin (Rajiv), Vice-President, Huawei Telecommunications India Pvt Ltd Dr. TONG Jisheng, Deputy President, Shanghai Construction Group Mr. Gene Y.F. ZHENG, VP, Shanghai SFECO Group Mr. SUN Xiang, CEO, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Mumbai Branch) Mr. Ranjan GARG, Vice-President, Supply Chain, HT Media Limited Ms. WANG Dan, Deputy Director General, Monetary Policy Department, People’s Bank of China Ms. XU Ning, Secretary-General, Chamber of Chinese Enterprise in India (Mumbai) Source: http://www.newstrendz.tk/
2012-11-27“Opportunities for China-India Strategic Business Partnership” Mumbai (Nov 27, 2012): China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable, in partnership with India China Economic and Cultural Council, is to organize a special luncheon panel on Nov 27, 2012 at the Trident Hotel, Mumbai, gathering a group of top business leaders from China and India companies to address issues in the bilateral trade and business relations. Over the past decades, the world has witnessed unprecedented rapid growth in both China and India.The rest of the globe has kept a watchful eye on the growing business partnership between the two biggest developing nations. However, Indian and Chinese businesses have yet to use combined strength to gain from fast growing domestic markets. It is mainly a result of lack of communication and knowledge about opportunities, policies and procedures. “Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs must form mutually beneficial partnerships, joint ventures, exchanges of technologies and foster greater mutual FDI flow to boost bilateral trade. A joint effort is needed to develop social interaction to achieve faster economic and commercial cooperation,” said Mr. Zhou Li, the roundtable co-chair and also Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. This luncheon will bring together business leaders from the two countries, to discuss how best to strengthen economic ties and explore strategic business partnership. The panelists at today’s Roundtable include Mr. ZHENG Xinli, Permanent Vice Chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges; Mr. Jagat SHAH, Chairman, Global Network; Mr. YAO Weimin, Vice-President, Huawei Telecommunications India Pvt Ltd; Mr. Kaushal SAMPATH, CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Pvt Ltd; Mr. SUN Xiang, CEO, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Mumbai Branch); Dr. TONG Jisheng, Deputy President, Shanghai Construction Group; Mr. Sabyasachi MITRA, Principal Economist, Asian Development Bank, Mr. Ranjan GARG, Vice-President, Supply Chain, HT Media Limited; Ms. WANG Dan, Deputy Director General, Monetary Policy Department II, People’s Bank of China and Ms. XU Ning, Secretary-General, Chamber of Chinese Enterprise in India (Mumbai) etc. ### About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is an invitation only network of leading decision makers in Asia. The roundtable gatherings serve as platforms for focused dialogues, and to initiate collective endeavors on strategic concerns regarding economics, business and social development in Asia. Its aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries. (www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable) About India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) ICEC was set up in 2003 with the primary goal of giving more muscle to the relationship between India and China: To ensure that the two governments, our societies and the people understand and address each others’ needs resulting in common goals. (http://www.icec-council.org/)
2012-11-27If China and India can remove some hurdles and work together more closely, they will be able to change the whole world, participants told the “Opportunities for China-Indian Strategic Business Partnership” forum in Mumbai on Tuesday. Though China is India’s largest trade partner, there is not much collaboration in other fields. Meanwhile, business relations are often obstructed with unfavorable government policies and misconceptions. “As Asia is hailed as the savior of the world economy, China and India are emerging as the first-tier world economic giants. However, the bilateral trade volume and business activities between the two pale in comparison with their respective weight in world economy,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. The luncheon panel discussion was co-hosted by China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable, an invitation only network of Asian decision makers, and the India-China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC), an Indian non-governmental organization. Representatives from leading Chinese companies in India, like the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Mumbai branch), ZTE Telecom India and power giant TBEA Energy India, laid on the table the opportunities they foresee, the challenges they face and suggestions as to what can be done to create better synergy between Chinese and Indian companies. Cui Liangjun, CEO of ZTE Telecom India, said the company, which arrived in India in 1999, has almost all India telecom operators as its customers. While there is huge potential in India, especially in the rural areas where mobile phone penetration is less than 20 percent in some places, there are also hurdles like visa difficulties and security issues. However, ZTE remains optimistic and will be seeking to expand its operations in the next few years from the telecom sector to power, education and railways. TBEA General Manager Liu Wei mentioned taxation problems the company faced initially. Now with its factory being built in western Gujarat state, there are problems with labor and subcontractors, he said. “Despite the challenges, if China and India work together they will change the world,” said Zheng Xinli, permanent vice-chairman, China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Outlining some of the areas in which the two countries can work together, Zheng advocated matching Indian software expertise with Chinese hardware skills, saying the synergy can change the global information and communication technology. Other areas include financial services, energy and infrastructure, he added. “Chinese and Indian companies should work together to form merger and acquisitions overseas,” he said. “Both India and China can go overseas together to acquire natural resources like mines and oil and gas.” Kaushal Sampat, president and CEO-India at Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India, suggested joint ventures can be a way of gaining greater acceptance in India. “When I visited power stations in India, I saw a large part of the equipment was made by Chinese companies. Why can’t they be made in India?” That, he said, will get greater acceptance from the industry, local governments as well as local standard implementing authorities. ICEC President P S Deodhar suggested Chinese and Indian companies co-produce international brands that will not be subject to regulatory issues. The Indian experts advised Chinese companies to hire consultants’ help in advance to avoid misunderstandings. India-based consulting firm E J McKay and Co was set up initially to advise Indian companies on investing in China. About five years ago, the company began advising Chinese companies on investments in India, said Kamal Rungta, the company’s managing director. “Sany, one of the largest construction companies in China, invested in Pune (after consultations),” he said. “It is important to have an experienced adviser. Then the chances of success are higher.” sarkar@chinadailyapac.com Source: http://www.chinadailyapac.com/article/china-india-can-change-world
2012-11-27MUMBAI - A high-level and professional forum has discussed how to build China-India businessstrategic and cooperative relationship, and promote the economic development of the twocountries. More than 30 representatives attended the China-India Business Strategy and CooperationOpportunity Forum in India's financial hub Mumbai on Tuesday, which is hosted by China DailyAsia Leadership Roundtable and India-China association for the promotion of economy andculture. In the opening ceremony, P.S. Deodhar, chairman of India-China association for the promotionof economy and culture, said India and China should become cooperative partners notbusiness rivals, and the current first priority for the two countries is to seek strategiccooperation. Zhang Guobao, director of consultancy association for China national energy committee,agreed with what Mr.Deodhar said. He said China and India has a long-standing cooperation. Though China is widely consideredas the most important investor among many Asian developing economies, in fact, manyinvestment projects are fulfilled with the cooperation between the two countries. The prospect of mutual cooperation between the two countries is good, especially intelecommunication and finance, which will undoubtedly brings actual benefits to China andIndia, said Zheng Xinli, vice chairman of China Center for International Economic Exchanges. He suggested that China and India launch and build Asia investment bank and Asia agriculturebank, which is discussed and justified by the Brics, or major five emerging economies, and it willbring about new opportunity for strengthening regional economic cooperation and thedevelopment of the Asian economy as a whole. When it comes to the problems that Chinese companies always face in India, such as taxationand employee visa, Indian participants brainstormed and came up with new better ways.Moreover, they expressed their willingness to cooperate with Chinese counterparts. China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is established on the success of the China Daily CEORoundtable (established in 2004). Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-11/28/content_15966300.htm
2012-11-27Despite significant growth over the past 15 years, Hong Kong faces the challenge of redefining itself in the context of a more integrated Asia and an evolving Chinese mainland. “The whole region (grew) in the past 15 years at a reasonably high spee Author: Alfred Romann Despite significant growth over the past 15 years, Hong Kong faces the challenge of redefining itself in the context of a more integrated Asia and an evolving Chinese mainland. “The whole region (grew) in the past 15 years at a reasonably high speed,” said Prof Edward K.Y. Chen, distinguished fellow at the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong. While gross domestic product growth in most Asian countries averaged 5 to 6 percent, the Chinese mainland had been growing at close to 10 percent. Hong Kong averaged 3.6 percent growth. “But accompanying economic growth in the region we also observe instability and growing inequality, with maybe two exceptions,” Chen added. “China is always stable and also growing very fast. The other exception is Japan, very stable but growing very slowly.” Instability is hard to avoid. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 created much of it. When the IT bubble burst in 2000, it led to more instability. The global financial crisis in 2008 was also a reason of instability. “Instability cannot be avoided,” Chen continued. “Of greater concern is increasing inequality… Hong Kong is not the only case.” Across Asia, the Gini Coefficient, that measures inequality, increased from about .4 to nearly .46 in the past 15 years. On the Chinese mainland, the measure rose from about .32 to almost .46. In Hong Kong, the coefficient has risen from an already high .48 to .533. “Asian governments are not only concerned with removing absolute poverty, they (also) want to narrow the gap between rich and poor,” said Chen. Chen was speaking at the Asian Leadership Roundtable held as part of a series of events to mark the 15th anniversary of China Daily’s Hong Kong edition on Oct 8. He was one of nine top executives and intellectuals who gathered at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to discuss the path the city has taken since 1997 and the road ahead. “Hong Kong, The Road Ahead” was the latest in a series of roundtables launched two years ago to “discuss topics and issues of importance to regional development in Hong Kong, the mainland and the whole region”, said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief, China Daily’s Hong Kong edition. One area in which lack of government intervention has cost Hong Kong dearly is the development of science and technology. The city’s economy is not very diversified outside of finance, trading and service industries, said Prof Wong Yuk-Shan, vice-president, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “The element of science and technology in the Hong Kong economy is very minimal when compared with (other) economies in Southeast Asia, like South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore,” said Wong. “We need to have new economic driving engines to provide enough jobs to our young generation and maintain economic sustainability.” Although Hong Kong has good universities, with four ranked in the top 200 in the world, most of them are involved in basic research that does not translate into actual economic growth. “I believe there is a second chance for the development of science and technology,” said Wong. He suggested this can be done through the six local universities and thousands of qualified professors and researchers, the links with the Pearl River Delta and its visibly larger resources for research and development, and the growing number of research institutes that Hong Kong universities have set up in the southern part of the Chinese mainland. “We should pick up this second chance and aim at developing (science and technology) as another economic driver for Hong Kong,” said Wong. The contrast between the development of Hong Kong in science and technology and in other areas, such as finance and even luxury consumer retail, is remarkable. The Hong Kong luxury retail space has grown from a market that held two or three standalone luxury brand boutiques to a city that can sustain almost 10 luxury brands, said Dinesh Tandon, CEO for Asia Pacific North at Bally GC Retail. “This is much more than cities like London or Milan.” Though rents have gone through the roof, making Hong Kong one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world, on the other hand, sales per square foot along Canton Road, where many luxury brands are located, are among the highest in the world. “Some brands have a waiting list of almost a year for certain luxury products,” said Tandon. “At the core of this development (is) the (Chinese) mainland customer... At least 60 percent of the business for luxury brands comes from mainland Chinese customers.” For the luxury shopper, Hong Kong is visibly cheaper. Its status as a free port means similar products are 15 to 20 percent cheaper in Hong Kong than on the mainland or other countries in the region, like Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand, that have much higher duties. Another challenging area for Hong Kong is the environment. Air quality, in particular, has grown worse. The most visible case is roadside pollution, said Simon K. W. Ng, head of transport and sustainability research at Civic Exchange, a Hong Kong think tank. “We should be able to do better. We should be able to adopt a tighter standard in order to protect public health,” said Ng. The Hong Kong air pollution index is published daily but is often misunderstood. Better indexes, possibly linked directly to health, would help. “We need everyone to care about air quality before the government can put in place effective measures to control the air quality in Hong Kong,” said Ng. As the city changed and evolved considerably over the last 15 years, three events had a significant impact on the development, said Dr Eddy C. Fong, chairman, Securities and Futures Commission. The first was the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the second the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003, and the most recent the global financial crisis in 2008. All three triggered significant changes, including the creation of a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement between Hong Kong, Macao and a dozen southern provinces on the mainland. Now the numbers speak for themselves. The Hang Seng Index has grown from about 10700 in 1997 to 21000 today, even after the impact of the global financial crisis. The number of companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has risen from 658 to 1,533 with a market capitalization of HK$19.6 trillion ($2.5 trillion) this year, up more than 514 percent on HK$3.2 trillion in 1997. Daily turnover on the stock exchange has also risen more than 240 percent from about HK$15 billion in 1997 to nearly HK$53 billion this year. Hong Kong’s media industry has also evolved considerably. Newspapers, radio and television stations and websites all have had to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Publishers face higher requirements for more sophisticated content, which is also socially responsible. “The biggest challenge over the next decade or so, in such a customer-liberated environment, is how to find an equilibrium,” said Dr William Wing-Yan Lo, vice-chairman of the South China Media Group. The film industry is also facing change and could benefit from the evolution of Hong Kong and the growing integration with the much larger market in the southern part of the Chinese mainland, said Ko Chi Sum, CEO and producer at Spring-Time Stage. The similarity of tastes between Hong Kong movie-goers and their peers in Guangdong, for example, opens up opportunities for local filmmakers, said Ko, a well-known director and industry executive. One of the great things about Hong Kong, said Dr Raymond K.F. Ch’ien, chairman of the MTR Corporation that operates the city’s mass transit system, is the opportunities it provides for expansion. Before 2007, the year MTR merged with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, it managed a network of less than 95 kilometers and moved less than 3 million passengers every day. Today, the company manages a network of almost 1,000 km and moves some 9 million passengers in operations in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, London and Stockholm, and will soon open a service in Hangzhou. Ch’ien believes Hong Kong should be a leader for the country, not only in areas like infrastructure but also in education, healthcare delivery. Greater integration with the Chinese mainland and increased participation in the global economy are the hallmarks of Hong Kong’s development not only over the last decade and a half but going forward. The challenge over the next decades, said Joe Ngai, managing partner at McKinsey & Company in Hong Kong, will revolve around Hong Kong’s role as a hub and its ability to continue leveraging this strength while addressing challenges such as education, the environment and inequality. “We have to be very proud of our ability as a hub,” said Ngai. “At the end of the day, we should be proud of having a much bigger impact than what we are ourselves.” http://www.chinadailyasia.com/
2012-10-08The last 15 years have, in terms of development, been good for Hong Kong. There have been some ups and downs, most notably as a result of the Asian Financial Crisis, the SARS outbreak and the global financial crisis, but the city has managed to develop and grow, along with much of the rest of Asia. But the past decade and a half has also brought a lot of change and Hong Kong is now facing a number of hurdles and the challenge of redefining itself in the context of a more integrated Asia and an evolving China. “The whole region has been growing, in the past 15 years, at a reasonably high speed,” said Professor Edward Chen, distinguished fellow at the Centre of Asia Studies of the University of Hong Kong. “Asian governments are not only concerned with removing absolute poverty, they want also to narrow the gap between rich and poor,” said Chen. Chen was speaking at the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable held as part of a series of events to mark the 15th anniversary of China Daily Hong Kong on October 8. He was one of nine top executives and intellectuals who gathered to discuss the path the city has taken since 1997 and the road ahead. “Hong Kong, Past Fifteen Years and the Road Ahead” was one more in a series of similar roundtables first launched two years ago to “discuss topics and issues of importance to regional development in Hong Kong, the mainland and the whole region,” said Zhou Li, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily Hong Kong. GDP growth in most Asian countries has averaged 5 to 6 percent, while the Chinese mainland has been growing at close to 10 percent and Hong Kong at an average of 3.6 percent. “But, accompanying economic growth in the region we also observe instability and growing inequality with maybe two exceptions. China is always stable and also growing very fast. The other exception is Japan, very stable but growing very slowly,” Chan said. Instability is hard to avoid. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 created much of it. When the IT bubble burst in 2000, it led to more instability, so did SARS in 2003. The global financial crisis in 2008 was also a cause for instability. “Instability cannot be avoided,” said Chen. “Of greater concern is increasing inequality together with economic growth in the region. Hong Kong is not the only case.” Across Asia, the Gini Coefficient that measures inequality, increased from about 0.4 to about 0.46 in the past 15 years. In the Chinese mainland, the measure has risen from about 0.32 to about 0.46 in the same period. In Hong Kong, the coefficient has risen from an already high 0.48 to 0.533. To maintain economic momentum and growth Hong Kong has to do two things, said Chen. The first is to increase economic cooperation and even integration with the mainland. (See sidebar) The second is to find a new niche for Hong Kong industries. He believes the current interpretation of the “positive non-intervention” principle that is at the core of Hong Kong’s economic system since 1979. “Positive non-intervention means no intervention when the results are positive. If the results are not positive, you should interfere,” said Chen. “They should go back to the original meaning.” One area in which the lack of government intervention has cost Hong Kong dearly is in the development of science and technology. The city’s economy is not very diversified outside of finance, trading and service industries said Prof Yuk-Shan Wong, vice-president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “The element of science and technology in the Hong Kong economy is very minimal when compared with economies in Southeast Asia like South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore,” said Wong. “We need to have new economic driving engines to provide enough jobs to our young generation and to maintain economic sustainability.” In general, Hong Kong has good universities, with four ranked in the top 200 in the world. However, most of these universities are involved in basic research that does not translate into actual economic growth. Scientists and researchers publish high-end papers in top scientific journals but it is more rare to see that abstract research translate into marketable products or patents. Neighboring economies like Taiwan and Singapore have been much more effective at converting science and technology progress into visible economic growth. Taiwan did it famously well in the production of electronics and integrated circuits through the 1980s. Singapore has taken a leap forward in medicine and pharmaceuticals. Hong Kong, by contrast, missed out on a golden opportunity to develop a science and technology powerhouse, losing out to neighbors that put both emphasis and resources in the sector, said Wong. But, the Special Administrative Region may have another opportunity now to develop this sector by leveraging its relationship with — and the growth of — southern China and the Pearl River Delta. “I believe there is a second chance for the development of science and technology,” said Wong. This could be done on the basis of six local universities and thousands of qualified professors and researchers, the links with the Pearl River Delta and its visibly larger resources for research and development and the growing number of research institutes that Hong Kong universities have set up in southern China. “We should pick up this second chance and aim at developing (science and technology) as another economic driver for Hong Kong,” said Wong. He believes the Hong Kong SAR government should take proactive leadership and develop a strong science policy, while business leaders and investors should be more long-sighted and positive on science and technology. The contrast between Hong Kong’s development in science and technology and in other areas such as finance and even luxury consumer retail is stark. As Wong lamented a shortage of long-sighted policies in Hong Kong for his field, a luxury retailer expounded at length about the impressive growth of the Hong Kong market. The Hong Kong luxury retail space has grown from a market that held two or three standalone luxury brand boutiques to a city that could sustain almost 10 luxury brands, said Dinesh Tandon, CEO for Asia Pacific at Bally GC Retail. This is much more than cities like London or Milan. “Some brands have a waiting list of almost a year for certain luxury products,” said Tandon. “At the core of this development was the mainland customer... At least 60 percent of the business for luxury brands comes from mainland Chinese customers.” However, there are also challenges even for a retail sector that has experienced unparalleled growth. The most visible challenge is the real estate cost. Rents have gone through the roof, making Hong Kong one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. Real estate challenges are, of course, not exclusive to luxury retailers. The property cost is a regular topic of discussion and one of the factors that contributes to the city’s high Gini Coefficient. Another challenging, and often ignored, hurdle that the city faces is the environment. Air quality, in particular, has grown much worse over the past decade and a half, even as manufacturing has move to the mainland. The most visible case in point is roadside pollution, said Simon Ng, head of transport and sustainability research at Civic Exchange. “We should be able to do better. We should be able to adopt a tighter standard in order to protect public health,” said Ng. The Hong Kong air pollution index is published daily but is often misunderstood. Just about everybody in the city keeps track of the Hang Seng Index of stocks but very few follow the air quality index, in part because few actually known what it means. “We need everyone to care about air quality before the government can put in place effective measures to control the air quality in Hong Kong,” said Ng. Without a doubt, the city has changed and evolved considerably over the last 15 years. Three significant events have had a significant impact on Hong Kong’s development in that period, said Dr Eddy Fong, chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The first was the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the second was the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and the most recent was the global financial crisis in 2008. All three events posed significant changes, including the creation of the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Hong Kong and the mainland. Numbers speak for themselves. The Hang Seng Index has grown from about 10700 in 1997 to 21000 today, even after the impact of the global financial crisis. The number of companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has risen from 658 to 1,533 with a market capitalization of HK$3.2 trillion in 1997 to HK$19.6 trillion this year, up more than 514 percent. Daily turnover on the stock exchange has also risen more than 240 percent from about HK$15 billion in 1997 to about HK$53 billion this year (and this is down from almost double that in the heydays of 2007). “We have to work with the mainland). We have to work with the rest of the world. This is the survival element of Hong Kong,” said Fong. “We are international but really, what we have, is a good platform for international liquidity and funds to come in. If we don’t have a good platform nobody will have trust and confidence in Hong Kong.” Hong Kong’s media industry has also evolved considerably. Newspapers, radio and television stations and websites all have had to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. Readers are less willing to pay for content but publishers face higher requirements for more sophisticated content, content that is socially responsible. “The biggest challenge over the next decade or so, in such a customer liberated environment, is how to find an equilibrium,” said Dr William Lo, vice-Chairman of the South China Media Group. The film industry is also facing change, said Ko Chi Sum, CEO & Producer at Spring-Time Stage, and could benefit from the evolution of Hong Kong and growing integration with the much larger market in southern China. The similarity of tastes between Hong Kong movie-goers and their peers in Guangdong, for example, open up an opportunity for local filmmakers, said Ko, a well-known director and industry executive. One of the great things about Hong Kong, said Dr Raymond K F Ch’ien, chairman of the MTR Corporation that operates the city’s mass transit system, is the opportunities it provides for expansion. “Given a chance and the right environment where you can be financially sustainable, you can sustain really rapid growth,” said Ch’ien. Before 2007, the year MTR merged with KCRC, the MTR company managed a network of less than 95 km and moved less than 3 million passengers every day. Today, the company manages a network of almost 1,000 km and moves some 9 million passengers in operations in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, London and Stockholm and will soon open a service in Hangzhou. Ch’ien believes Hong Kong should be a leader for the mainland, not only in areas like infrastructure but also in education, and health care delivery. “We can really help the mainland to become one of the global leaders,” said Ch’ien. “That’s what gives Hong Kong sustainability and scalability.” Greater integration with the mainland and increased participation in the global economy are the hallmarks of Hong Kong’s development not only over the last decade and a half but going forward. The challenge over the next decades, said Joe Ngai, managing partner at McKinsey & Company Hong Kong, will revolve around Hong Kong’s role as a hub and its ability to continue leveraging this strength while addressing the challenges facing the city in areas such as education, the environment and inequality. “We have to be very proud of our ability as a hub,” said Ngai. “At the end of the day, we should be proud of having a much bigger impact than what we are ourselves.” Full PDF version downloads: www.cdroundtable.com/pdf/20121002-H2-H3.pdf
2012-10-08中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「香港:十五年回顧與前瞻」 香港灣仔博覽道一號 香港會議展覽中心S221室 2012年10月8日上午11:45至下午2:30 二零一二年十月八日,香港 中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇於二零一二年十月八日在香港會議展覽中心舉辦專題午餐會,來自不同戰略行業的專家演講嘉賓將為大家分享真知灼見。各位嘉賓將會從各自行業的角度回顧香港過去十五年該行業的發展,並展望未來五年的發展挑戰及機遇。本次午餐會將邀請來自政府、商界、學界、非牟利機構及媒體界的領袖,包括亞洲新聞聯盟的主編。亞洲新聞聯盟是由亞洲19個國家和地區21家主流媒體構成的新聞聯盟,是全球最大的媒體及出版行業協會之一。本次專題討論將以英文進行(將會提供同聲傳譯),並會向本地、區域及國際媒體開放。 確認演講嘉賓: 區域經濟: 陳坤耀教授,香港大學亞洲研究中心傑出院士 金融服務: 方正博士, 證券及期貨事務監察委員會主席 公共運輸: 錢果豐博士,香港鐵路有限公司主席 媒體及出版: 盧永仁博士,南華傳媒集團副主席 電影製作: 高志森先生,【春天舞台】監製 高等教育: 黃玉山教授,香港科技大學副校長 奢侈品及零售: 唐德安先生,Bally北亞太區執行總裁 公共政策智庫: 吳家穎先生,思匯政策研究所運輸及可持續發展研究主管 策略諮詢: 倪以理先生,麥肯錫香港分公司總經理 關於《中國日報香港版》 《中國日報香港版》創刊於1997年,以其本地化、獨特的報道視角成為香港、澳門和部分亞洲國家和地區高端讀者的重要讀物。讀者包括香港特別行政區政府官員、金融機構和跨國企業CEO、高級管理人員、外交官員、智庫和學者等。香港以其特殊的區位優勢,在連通世界與中國內地方面發揮著重要作用。《中國日報香港版》為展現包括港澳地區在內的中國當前經濟、社會飛速發展提供了良好的視角;以其第一手的資訊和敏銳的觀察力,成為讀者洞悉中國內地蓬勃發展最直接、最權威的信息源。二零一二年適逢香港特別行政區回歸十五周年。過去十五年,《中國日報香港版》見證了香港特區經濟及社會運動的發展,同時也迎來了《中國日報香港版》的十五周年報慶。 關於中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇 「中國日報亞洲領袖圓桌論壇」(www.chinadailyapac.com/roundtable) 旨在搭建一個由亞洲國家和地區的政、商、學界領袖和社會精英參與的高端對話和交流平台,圍繞亞洲地區經濟、商業、產業和社會發展等具有戰略影響的重要議題展開討論和分享見解,以增進中國與亞洲和西方國家的交流和理解。
2012-10-08The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations aspires toward regional economic integration by 2015 and to form the ASEAN Economic Community. To facilitate this, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum will bring together CEOs from China's most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The forum will see leaders from key sectors including technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share ideas on how to realize their business potential and work together as strategic partners. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economy, business and social development in Asia. News source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-09/21/content_15774561.htm
2012-09-21China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum Sept 21, Kuala Lumpur As the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) aspires to regional economic integration by 2015 and form the ASEAN Economic Community, the China-Malaysia Strategic Business Partnership Forum is delighted to bring together CEOs from China’s most dynamic and fast growing enterprises and their counterparts in Malaysia. The forum will see leaders from key sectors such as technology, energy, natural resources, finance, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and other strategic industries share insights on how to realize their immense business potential and work together as strategic business partners. The forum, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 21, is jointly organized by the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable and Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance. The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. It aims to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding among China, other Asian countries and Western countries. Established in 2004 following the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable, it is supported by the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance, inspired by the philosophy of “helping 100 private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500”, was founded by Feng Jun, chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs who are leaders in their respective fields. The alliance aims to promote leading brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector and help them become global leaders with contributions to corporate citizens worldwide. The panel at the forum includes Feng Jun, chairman and president, Aigo Digital Technology, Zheng Jingbo, president, Bank of China (Malaysia), and Lindsay Zhang Lingzhi, ZTE’s HR director, Asia-Pacific region. Tan Chee Chai, director of Metal and Fabrication Industries Division, Malaysian Investment Development Authority, will deliver the welcome address. We are pleased to have The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Chinese Enterprises Association in Malaysia and Malaysia Chamber of Commerce as supporting organizations and China Daily, Sin Chew Daily, Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd and Asian News Network as media partners. Details of the event: Date: 21/9/2012 (Friday) Time: 11:45 – 15:00 Venue: Prince Room 1, Level 3, Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur Moderator: Alexander Wan – Senior Advisor, China Daily Asia Pacific About China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable was created as a result of the success of the China Daily CEO Roundtable (established in 2004, http://ceoroundtable.chinadaily.com) and with the support of the Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers from 19 Asian countries and regions (http://www.asianewsnet.net). The China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable is a by-invitation network of movers and shakers in Asia providing platforms for focused dialogue, issue investigation, and possible collective action on strategic issues relating to economic, business and social development in Asia. Our aim is to enhance communication and increase mutual understanding between China, other Asian countries and Western countries. About Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance Based on the overarching idea of “helping one hundred private Chinese enterprises join the ranks of the Fortune 500,” the Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance (http://aea.aigo.com) was founded by Feng Jun, Chairman of Aigo Digital Technology, in cooperation with a consortium of influential entrepreneurs that are leaders in their respective fields. The Aigo Entrepreneurs Alliance aims to promote leading Chinese brands from China’s rapidly growing private sector. AEA is driven by the goal of helping more private Chinese businesses become truly global enterprises and contributing corporate citizens worldwide.
2012-09-21Ctrip.com International Ltd, the leading on-line travel services provider in China, will speed up its overseas tour market expansion to cash in on the country’s growing outbound tourism, Chief Executive Officer Fan Min told China Daily on the sideline of the Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macao. Market competition within the tourism sector is intense in the mainland these days, and oversupply has become an issue haunting the industry, Fan said, adding that some real needs remain unsatisfied as “fine service systems are not easy to set up”, particularly high-end products catering to the needs of the rich. The Nasdaq-listed company will continue to boost sales through its traditional on-line platform, which has provided ample and clear choices to clients. At the same time, “off-line sales” have also been put onto the shelves, including premium winery tours, which aim to serve the growing wealthy population’s needs in the country, according to Fan. “Our outbound tourism services are also expected to surge rapidly on buoyant demand, although it remains a relatively small portion of the whole cake of the group currently,” Fan said in Macao on Monday, without elaborating on the exact proportion of their outbound tourism within all their current products. Ctrip’s focus on high-end tourism products was not just a recent move. At the end of April this year, the company had announced its acquisition of Trip TM, a four-year-old hyper-luxury vacation operator to “help realize Ctrip’s goal to corner half the market share of the top-end tours in the country”. “Ctrip currently serves millions of clients in China, but the potential consumers in the market could be tens of that,” Fan added. The outbound travel markets maintained strong growth momentum in the mainland over the years with the number of outbound travelers growing by 22.85 percent year-on-year to 70.25 million in 2011, and the figure surged by another 20 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012, according to the China Outbound Tourism Yearbook 2012, which estimated the number to reach 100 million by the year of 2015. Although the travel-service provider aims at a breakthrough in outbound products and high-end tours, Fan admitted that Ctrip is cautious with its expansion plans. He added that the Greater China tourism services remained the cornerstone of the group, and “solid business foundation in China will make the go-out plan much easier.” The chief executive officer, who is still bullish on the market outlook despite the slowdown of the overall mainland economy, acknowledged that some consumers may be tight with money, but he believes that people’s travel plans would not be scrapped during hard times, but rather they would probably choose some cheaper itinerary to relieve their boredom instead. China is widely anticipated to overtake Germany and the US to become the world’s largest source of outbound travelers by the end of this year, Matt Thompson, project director for the China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market, said at a tourism fair held in Beijing this April. Thompson predicted some 78 million Chinese will travel overseas in 2012, with the consumption generated from outbound tourism to hit a record high of $80 billion this year. litao@chinadailyhk.com By Li Tao
2012-09-11