When the new Chief Executive John Lee took office last month, one of his first acts was to abolish the flight-suspension mechanism, which had been one of the biggest hurdles to travel in and out of Hong Kong. This was on top of the gradual loosening of other measures over the course of 2022 so far.

We hope these positive developments will continue and allow Hong Kong to get back to full steam as a global hub. Businesses will need to ensure that they are ready for relaunch when normal operations finally return. 

However, it is difficult for businesses to make plans when we don’t know when a full reopening will happen. Therefore, we will continue to ask the Government for more information about timescales, so we can better prepare for relaunch. This is particularly important for smaller companies that do not have the resources to invest or increase headcount before the restrictions are eased.  

But we believe that once Hong Kong removes its Covid restrictions, we will quickly get back to business.

One of the main reasons we can be confident is because Hong Kong is a unique commercial hub, with benefits that cannot be replicated anywhere else. In particular, we have the enormous advantage of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) right on our doorstep.

Many international businesses come to Hong Kong because of our role as a bridge to the Mainland. The development of the GBA makes this even more important. Not only does the region offer advanced manufacturing and high-tech R&D, it also has a rapidly growing population of middle-class and wealthy individuals, creating a lucrative potential market. 

For global businesses that want to access the huge opportunities in the GBA, and the wider Chinese market, Hong Kong will continue to be the gateway. 

When the quarantine restrictions are eventually dropped, we acknowledge that Hong Kong will have some catching up to do as most other economies eliminated Covid restrictions some time ago. As such, a priority will be ensuring that the world knows that Hong Kong is back in business. 

Among our Chamber membership, we have a deep and broad range of knowledge, insights and expertise. So once the city reopens, we are well positioned to work with the Government to tell the Hong Kong story to the rest of the world. 

We await the green light on reopening, so we can start making plans for operations to return to normal, and look forward to welcoming businesspeople and tourists back to the city.

Betty Yuen
[email protected]