Interview: Hong Kong, an Exciting Place to Do Business

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, June 14, 2002

Interview: Hong Kong, an Exciting Place to Do Business

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"Hong Kong is a very exciting place to do business," David Armitage, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong who has a seven-year business experience in Hong Kong, told reporters Thursday.

Hong Kong has a relatively low tax rate which makes it cheaper to start business than any other place in the world and lots of business opportunities, Armitage said, noting "business going on all the time in the city, and there are so many things you can do."

Armitage cited some of his friends working with large Canadian corporations' Hong Kong Branches. "When they were transferred back to Canada, most of them were pretty unhappy about that. Even though we understand we would all go back to Canada to retire sooner or later, but for ones' working career, they want to stay Hong Kong for a little bit longer term."

Hong Kong is surely a place where the business opportunities are good and the lifestyle is "attractive", he said.

Hong Kong's bright future

Over the last five years, the Asian financial crisis, the global economic recession, and the adverse impact of "September 11" incident had constituted severe challenges to the young HKSAR Government. However, "there is Hong Kong that is still exciting and still trying to pick up the next thing it is going to do," the president said.

Armitage expressed belief that in the long term, Hong Kong will have a bright future.

According to Armitage, the most important asset Hong Kong possesses is the "rule of law". "It guarantees that my contract will be looked at by a judge based on the law, not based on what the judge feels," he noted.

Another advantages Hong Kong hold, said Armitage, are the "world-class" financial, legal and management experts, who, with the continued growth of Chinese Mainland's economy, will have a bigger role to play.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong boasts 800 members representing 400 corporations. So far there are some 300,000 Canadians working and living in Hong Kong, second only to the Filipinos in terms of total number.

Actually Hong Kong is the city with the largest Canadian population outside Canada. Their choice of Hong Kong is a commitment to this "dynamic and high energy" city, Armitage said.

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