Hong Kong has a population of 7 million and GDP per capita of ~ $50,000. So a rich big city. Well,
Denmark has 5 million people, one of the most productive agriculture industry in Europe, Maersk the biggest international shipping company, Novo Nordisk one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world…
Sweden has 10 million people, Volvo the car company, Ericsson the telecom company, H&M the clothing retailer, Electrolux the home appliance company, IKEA the furniture company…
What about Hong Kong? Hong Kong doesn’t have a single world-class company. Not a single one, despite of its fantastic wealth. Handed over to the British since 1842, so almost 180 years where the local tycoons get to play in the sandbox. What has Hong Kong done with all its money? Which Hong Kong company has made it big worldwide? OK, so you can argue that Hong Kong is too crowded. Well Tokyo is also terribly crowded - so they became the world’s leader at Miniaturization. Small, high-quality, efficient. That’s what led to Sony and Toyota. Why couldn’t Hong Kong do this?
Hong Kong does not have the “economic DNA” for those things. You need to learn how Hong Kong really made its money. Hong Kong started it’s “industrialization” as an Opium Den. Jardine Matheson was the opium-runner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi..., and HSBC was the bank that financed the opium trade. Almost all Hong Kong tycoons are in real estate, where you take a monopoly on the land, and extract exorbitant rent from people for no work. Hong Kong’s Richest People Movie-making in the Great Britain involves 50-year-old Dames with serious acting skills. Movie-making in Hong Kong is mostly money-laundering for the tycoons, and publicity for the tycoons’ 20-year-old mistresses and/or their third wives.
In 1997 Hong Kong was handed over to PRC. To boost Hong Kong economy and promote integration, China signed a CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Agreement) with Hong Kong in 2003, basically gave preferential status to trade through Hong Kong. Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement This agreement was promptly turned into a tax loophole by the Hong Kong lawyers. Goods worth $1 is exported from the Mainland to Hong Kong at $1, so you don’t pay China taxes because no profit is made. Then the goods is exported from Hong Kong to the rest of the world for $10, and you don’t pay Hong Kong taxes either, because no “work” has been done in Hong Kong. Up to a quarter of Mainlands goods get to route through Hong Kong to evade tax. Trillions of dollars route through Hong Kong for money laundering. If you do it, you’ll be called a “criminal” and end up in jail. If the tycoons do it with their companies, it’s called “providing legal/financial services” and ended up being a large chunk of Hong Kong’s GDP.
In a word, Hong Kong was and is all about money-laundering.
Hong Kong is not without opportunities to develop a real economy, but misses too many opportunities.
In the millennium, when there was a shift in manufacturing and entrepot trade, Hong Kong received several proposals for transformation.
In 1999, Tung Chee-hwa proposed the "Digital Cyberport" project to develop Internet technology.
We stand at that crossroad and look at the world around us. Google was just born in a private garage in California. It is far from being listed giant then. Facebook and Twitter were still unknown. China’s Alibaba and Tencent were just small gangs of 10 people. Ma Yun was not a "dad", he was just an ugly young man.
At that time, Hong Kong had the software skills, technology, talent, and capital, which of these were not stronger than that in the mainland?
However, the Internet was not taken up, and the Cyberport was turned into real estate development.
Later, Tung proposed the "Dangang" plan. Taiwan’s Zhang Yujing of TSMC, wanted to make chip manufacturing in Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong resolutely opposed it by "speculating the land and speculating the price of the property" and engaged in a protest [against Article 23 of Basic Law]. As a result, Shanghai invited Zhang Yujing to take a SMIC in Shanghai. It is now the largest chip manufacturer in China and the fourth in the world.
Later, Tung once again proposed the "Chinese Medicine Port" plan because Hong Kong has a strong scientific research system, as well as a large number of biological researchers and more importantly it has a quality inspection system recognized by the whole world. This proposal is a combination of production, education and research. However, again because of the short-sightedness of the city’s capitalists, Tung’s proposal was not adopted.
As a result, the Huada Gene appeared in Shenzhen across the river, and it has become a world-class genetic and biological research enterprise.
From 1999 to 2005, if Hong Kong seized these three opportunities, Hong Kong would be the Asian Internet center, chip manufacturing center, and biological research center.
In those years, what was Hong Kong busy with?
The economy took a turn and Hong Kong turned to "financial, real estate, and service industries." These industries went sky-high and housing prices skyrocketed. The so-called free financial trading port has brought a lot of hot money across the border. These capital hot money boosted Hong Kong economy.
Today, the enemy of the Hong Kong economy is inside Hong Kong, amongst those financial oligarchs.
The financial profits have made Hong Kong rich but also spoiled Hong Kong. The short-sightedness and profit-seeking of capitalists have made Hong Kong miss the best 10 years.
Hong Kong is left with financing center for listing but Hong Kong is not the only choice [for such service]. Shanghai and Shenzhen could replace Hong Kong.
"Democracy" shaped itself into an isolated golden bell [cast-iron shield], and when Hong Kong looked at the rising small fishing village on the other side of the river, began to panic, then stupidly blame the government, blame the chief executive, blame the Li [Ka-shing] family, blame the return of Hong Kong to China. Everything was some else’s fault.
Ignoring the opportunity of huge market of 70 trillion yuan, [Hong Kong youth] took to the streets, playing "politic is right." It’s pitiful and pathetic!
The formerly closed ignorant Mainland China has becomes open and inclusive; Hong Kong, which was open to freedom in the past, has become ignorant and closed.
In just a few decades, history has played us the biggest joke.
Hong Kong people ~ have you woken up yet?
