Hong Kong has reached another crossroad in its journey as a special administrative region in China. The challenge is not just over domestic issues but having to cope with complex geopolitical shifts that affect the “global order.”
Professor Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Scholar in Residence at Asia Society Hong Kong, posed some thought-provoking questions about the “possible futures” of Hong Kong at the Chamber’s “CEO 123 Tell Me More” talk on 10 April.
Discussing the city’s current predicament and the possible paths forward, Loh pointed out that Hong Kong has gone through some remarkable chapters in its history, and we all can relate to a specific date or event which is etched on our memories and hearts. For her, it was the riots and bombs in Central from the cultural revolution post World War II.
From such chaos, Hong Kong rose into Asia’s leading Tiger, demolished squatter huts and built public housing to provide homes for 45% of the population. And from reunification and closer integration with the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong’s growth and development has been unstoppable. While critics may try to argue that the Covid-19 pandemic caused our population shrink and even represented the beginning of the end of Hong Kong, the city is transient, with a constant ebb and flow in the tides of people, much like other global metropolises. Today, Hong Kong’s at 7.9 million-strong population continues to notch new highs.
As Hong Kong pursues development and growth, we must look to its SMEs and get to know these companies and the industries in which they operate, said Loh. “We have a lot of enterprises here that are successfully solving issues and have the potential to be business leaders. The future is about reindustrialization, circular economy, green business models and digital economy.”
A former Undersecretary for the Environment in the HKSAR Government, Loh also talked about the importance of achieving environmental and social sustainability. The world is seeing a sustainability revolution, and businesses have to change. ESG is one of the many tools that requires people to start looking at their environmental and social performance. One important thing the Government has done is to push banks and listed companies to do ESG reporting. As the regulators have said they will follow ISSB international standards that will come into play by 2026, companies doing business with listed firms, such as SMEs, will be asked by their customers and banks to disclose information. In fact, many SMEs are already looking into what they need to do, she said, for which they need support and help.
For the next chapters in Hong Kong that will go down in our history, we are moments in time shaping our future. “We definitely have many strengths, but we also must acknowledge our weaknesses to address these threats and reinforce our advantages,” Loh said.