Hong Kong leaders say city is good place to seek stability, capitalise on China growth Hong Kong is an ideal place for investors to seek stability and move resources away from riskier parts of the world, according to Alpha Lau Hai-suen, the director general of InvestHK. Speaking at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference on Tuesday, Lau said that since the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong’s investment flows have not returned to previous levels due to global trade and tariff challenges. InvestHK is a government agency tasked with promoting the city overseas. “Despite all that, the opportunities are rebounding because companies need stability,” she said. She said the city was both an ideal place to “shift some of your concentration risk away from less certain regions” and a bridge to the mainland. “This is a two-way flow, and we’re placing far more emphasis on it,” she said. At the conference, themed “Where Capital Meets Innovation,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said Hong Kong was a vital global link connecting the world to mainland China’s growth and stability amid shifting geopolitical landscapes. “Hong Kong is the ‘superconnector’ and ‘super value-adder’ that links the world with opportunities from China’s growth certainties,” he said in a keynote speech. “A link you can always bank on.” On top of that, Hong Kong was a springboard for mainland firms seeking to expand overseas, according to Jackson Qiu, Standard Chartered Bank’s SME banking transaction and treasury management head. “The China Plus One and China Plus N model is definitely rooted here in Hong Kong,” he said, referring to strategies where mainland firms move their manufacturing and sourcing to other countries while maintaining a presence at home. Wang Qixin, director and chief marketing officer at Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics, a top humanoid robot start-up, said Hong Kong offered tech companies unique opportunities in terms of financing, global strategy and access to talent. Through its operations in the city, Unitree has extended its sales network to neighbouring countries. “Hong Kong has one of the most active IPO markets in Asia, which provides a very stable and efficient financing channel for technology and innovation companies like ours,” he said. On Sunday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said HK$107 billion (US$13.6 billion) was raised by 42 initial public offerings in the first six months of the year, putting the city’s exchange in first place globally. David Xiao, chairman of AscenPower Semiconductors and APT Electronics, said his companies showed how Hong Kong’s legal system and overall business environment supported hi-tech companies. Xiao started his company at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 20 years ago and subsequently raised money in the city. “I think Hong Kong is very special,” Xiao said. At the end of last year, there were nearly 4,700 start-ups in Hong Kong and 28 per cent of those companies’ founders were not originally from the city, according to InvestHK’s Lau. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3317341/hong-kong-leaders-say-city-good-place-seek-stability-capitalise-china-growth (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post