If, like Jackie Chan, you were of the impression that Hong Kong’s economy is under threat because of all the Occupy Central shenanigans, think again, because that’s not the case at all, apparently.
According to the recently released World Bank annual “Doing Business” report, the city’s business prospects and climate have not been troubled by the pro-democracy protests, with Hong Kong still ranking third among 189 other countries for its ease of doing business…. as long as your office isn’t in Admiralty, perhaps. In that case you might have to walk a bit.
The report takes into account governance and regulatory factors, but excludes market confidence as an influence to establish rankings. That’s a shame. We thought market confidence might be important. Apparently not.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Wendy Werner, manager for trade and competitiveness at the World Bank Group, argued that despite senior officials warning Hong Kong of the potential adverse effects the protests could have on the economy, the “pro-democracy campaign does not appear to have an impact on the overall business confidence”.
She continues, “as long as transparency is strong, there’s good corporate governance rules and we have business-friendly rules and regulations, the investment climate really should stay intact, and that seems to be the case right now [in Hong Kong]”.
These sentiments contradict the views of Joseph Yam, a former head of Hong Kong’s central bank, and various Chinese media outlets, who argued that Beijing would “lessen preferential policies toward Hong Kong amid economic reform process[es]” that would cost the city billions of Hong Kong dollars every day due to the disruptive nature of the protests.
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So was also given a run for his money when he warned the city that its tourism industry would be negatively impacted. His words, however, couldn’t be further from the truth, as data from Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry Council showed a 90 percent increase in mainland tour groups between Oct.1 – 22, 2014 when compared to the same time frame in 2013.
Looks like things are still peachy in the Rotten Apple after all.
Photo: Liza Wang and Kayingle via Wikimedia
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