For all those preparing to make Hong Kong their gateway to Asia for its many business and lifestyle opportunities, this is the right moment to consider where the region is heading as Hong Kong forges its path through the rest of the decade ahead.
Observers turning their attention towards Hong Kong are catching the region at an exciting time, with many broad-ranging infrastructure developments now underway in the area improving conditions for investors, local city dwellers and those planning to stay in Hong Kong as they conduct their business activities. In recent years, this has included a significant build-up of cultural, dining and commercial opportunities in West Kowloon Cultural District, as well as Hong Kong’s most important investment in sports infrastructure in recent decades – the 28ha Kai Tak Sports Park. These and other progressive developments are now setting the stage for the territory’s next steps forward.
“We are ready for the world to visit,” says Invest Hong Kong’s head of tourism and hospitality Sindy Wong. “We have many new projects coming up, with West Kowloon already launched through to the new third runway coming up at the airport. We also have the Skycity development, a huge retail entertainment and dining project located right next to the airport to target both Hong Kong residents as well as the population connected by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge – they have several anchor tenants already with important entertainment companies moving in. So there are a lot of opportunities on the table.”
Infrastructure developments have supported Hong Kong’s growth and competitiveness as a logistics hub – a critical outlay for a region that is perfectly placed at the crossroads of transport routes connecting Asia, Europe and the rest of the world. With its third runway complete, HKIA will be able to handle around 100 million passengers and 9 million tonnes of cargo annually by the end of the decade. This capacity boost will complement Hong Kong’s emergence from a global aviation hub into an international innovation and technology locale, regional intellectual property trading centre and focus on arts and cultural exchange between Mainland China and the rest of the world that it is today.
“Hong Kong has become a great regional hub for e-commerce”, says Invest Hong Kong’s head of consumer products Angelica Leung. “There are certain business functions that are of great benefit when located in Hong Kong, such as merchant recruitment, finance and capital raising, and certainly logistics and warehousing of high value or delicate items. This all goes towards the need for business owners to give some thought to corporate structure and cross-border flow of goods and capital.”
Hong Kong’s robust physical infrastructure is supported by an ultra-modern communications backbone. The region’s digital and business environment is already backed up by 5G networks that cover 99 per cent of the city, enabling rapid connection at speeds of up to 20Gb/second between devices and wireless networks. This connectivity is currently empowering AI and IoT innovation as well as predictive real-time technologies, whilst greatly enhancing supply chain capabilities – increasing efficiency, speed and accuracy of tracking, cold chain management and beyond.
With investor eyes now turning towards Hong Kong, the October 17–21 Investment Promotion Week – timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR – will be a vital source of information for those seeking to assess the territory’s broader potential as a dynamic and exciting place to live and do business in the years ahead. Whilst each day is themed to introduce unique aspects of Hong Kong’s investment environment, the Wednesday October 19 program will be particularly focused on themes relevant to businesses in the creative industries, tourism & hospitality, food services, e-commerce and retail.
“In the morning, we will be talking about the opportunities arising from new infrastructural developments,” explains Wong, “and then later we will go into detail for specific industries. We plan to have guests coming in to give insights on the MICE industry, upcoming plans to attract overseas visitors as well as partner associations and organisations to share upcoming trends in retail and leasing. We’ll also discuss carbon neutrality, which has become a very hot topic in Hong Kong recently, and the potential regulation of single-use plastics for 2025 – so there will be opportunities for green packaging, new methods for consumers and restaurants and other related factors in order to help reach the Hong Kong carbon neutrality target of 2030. This is all critical info for businesses seeking opportunities here.”
Visitors to the event will meet with catalysts and practitioners leading urban development and innovation, as well as take opportunities to network with industry leaders to discuss Hong Kong’s latest lifestyle and creative technologies and the incentives available for investors.
Learn more about the event here, or connect with Invest Hong Kong by emailing aleung@investhk.gov.hk or swong@investhk.gov.hk.
