Nimble, thrifty and above all confident in its ability to take on any challenge were -- not too long ago -- the hallmarks of Hong Kong. More recently, critics whine that these traits have given way to lethargy, high costs and an unhealthy measure of pessimism. But speakers on the discussion panel at the Business After SARS Conference said the SARS crisis has reminded everyone just what makes Hong Kong great.

Jim Thompson, Chairman of Grown Worldwide Holdings, said that in his 30 years in Hong Kong, he has seen political problems, economic problems and medical problems, but in all those years he has never seen the community come together as it has now.

"If you combine that with the good economic indicators coming together, I think that we have a tremendously positive second half of the year to look forward to," he said. "Certainly the tourism industry is going to be hurt and a lot of work has to be done there, but when you see these things coming together and the cost of operating in Hong Kong coming down so much, I think it is going to be particularly attractive to foreign businesses coming back into Hong Kong and even expanding their business here."

Merle Hinrichs, Chairman & CEO, Global Sources, said the transparency in dealing with SARS has given Hong Kong great credibility and that now is the time to use that trust to inform businesses around the world that it is now safe to come back to Hong Kong.

"In a survey conducted by Global Sources, overseas businesses were very sympathetic to the SARS crisis. Over 50 percent of international buyers when asked how long they would wait before coming back to Hong Kong after the World Health Organisation lifted its travel advisory said they would return within a month," he said.

Michael Tien, Chairman, G2000, said retailers have learned a number of valuable lessons from the SARS crisis, chief among which is how to manage their risk. At the height of the SARS crisis, retailers' business from local shoppers was down by about 50 percent, while tourist spending was down 80-90 percent. To survive, businesses reduced hours, cut staff hours and employed part-time staff. But the biggest expenditure that retailers had no control over was and still is rental. This is an area where he feels landlords should have played a bigger role in easing retailers' suffering by temporarily reducing rents.

"The result has been very disappointing," he said. "The only one major landlord that has lent a hand to retailers is the Swire Group, the MTR and maybe a few others, but that's all."

Rental costs were the major cause for many retailers going under, not the fall in number of shoppers, as the decline in consumer spending was only temporary. In comparison, he said rental charges for his retail outlets in Beijing, which have been reduced inline with falling sales of about 60-70 percent, have resulted in much lower losses than in Hong Kong.