of the city to China and the world
https://www.hongkongwatch.org/s/Why-Hong-Kong-matters_web.pdf
2019, Hong Kong Watch
Executive Summary
The protest movement has drawn many prophesies from commentators about the end of Hong Kong, but little robust analysis of the city’s ongoing geopolitical importance, and its significance as China’s pre-eminent international financial hub has been produced.
Although Hong Kong’s economic output is less significant to China than it was in 1997, it still plays a key role both for the mainland and the world as the Asia Pacific region’s pre-eminent financial and professional services centre. Chapter 1 considers evidence for this in detail. Key insights include:
Hong Kong is a key source of capital for corporate China
• Hong Kong was home of 73% of the initial public offerings of mainland Chinese
companies between 2010 and 2018. Since 1997, Chinese companies have raised $335
billion in Hong Kong.
• The Hong Kong Stock Connect is increasingly the preferred route for Western investors
seeking to access the Mainland Chinese market. $95 billion flowed into Mainland
Chinese capital markets via Hong Kong between 2016 and September 2019.
• Hong Kong is the largest offshore centre for bond sales by Chinese companies, and
the largest recipient of foreign direct investment from China. It has a vital role in trade
finance and is the top hub for Renminbi internationalisation
• Hong Kong plays a key role as a private wealth management centre for high-net worth
individuals from Mainland China, including many members of the Chinese Communist
Party.
Hong Kong is critical to the interests of foreign firms and investors
• The city is a key regional hub for firms seeking to access China and other Asia Pacific
markets. 1530 multinationals have their regional headquarters in Hong Kong, an
increase of two-thirds since 1997.
• US outbound FDI to Hong Kong came to approximately $82.5 billion at the end of 2018,
and there are 1300 US companies in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the United Kingdom’s
second largest trading partner in Asia.
Can another Chinese city replace Hong Kong?
Hong Kong has a critical role to play in the region as a financial conduit between China and the West. This statement begs a second question: can these global powers easily replace Hong Kong? The third chapter of the report argues that China cannot easily replace Hong Kong.
Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing are growing in importance domestically, but they are nowhere near being able to replace Hong Kong’s unique function. Studies show that the relationship between Hong Kong and other financial centres should not be viewed primarily as one of competition, but
rather as a collaborative relationship with the different centres carrying different strengths.
7 reasons Hong Kong has the upper hand over other Chinese cities (Chapter 3)
1. Simpler and lower taxes
2. Deregulated economy and lack of capital controls
3. Strongest stock market
4. Unique connections, English is one of the official languages
5. Common law system is more transparent and reliable
6. Freedom information gives Hong Kong the upper hand
7. Hong Kong’s separate customs status brings unique access to the US and other markets
The Chinese government is unable to force international banks to relocate to Shanghai or Beijing. In an interview with a Hong Kong Watch researcher, one financial analyst said: ‘China cannot just move their international financial hub to Shanghai. The international investment banks and investors are the ones who decide where the Asian financial centre is.’
Could another offshore financial centre replace Hong Kong?
A greater challenge to Hong Kong is Singapore. Banks could move their human capital to Singapore without too much difficulty, although visa restrictions on foreigners generally have been tightening in Singapore. But, while it might be possible, the access that Hong Kong gives to China is unparalleled and Singapore would struggle to immediately act as a replacement. Situated in a different part of the region, without the local knowledge, a weaker stock market, and with less close access to the Chinese government, its state apparatus and businesses, Singapore is at a disadvantage.
Recent geopolitical tensions, particularly the US-China trade war, increase Hong Kong’s advantage. The ‘decoupling’ between the US and China means that the risks for Chinese firms of becoming too dependent on access to capital in New York, or even London, has increased, along with China’s desire to have a trusted and controllable financial hub. The result for Hong Kong has been that Alibaba and others have listed in the city despite the protests.
Some analysts think China might go into deficit in future years as the ageing population brings a lower savings ratio. But even with a small surplus, China is more reliant on attracting capital inflows from foreigners than in the past. This will mean that Hong Kong’s capacity to raise capital will matter more than ever.
The rule of law and fundamental freedoms are vital to the city’s success
As part of the research, we interviewed business leaders and analysed key business sentiment through surveys to understand what it was that attracts people to Hong Kong. Rule of law was consistently cited as a priority. One senior executive of a British bank said: ‘The Rule of Law is the most important reason for Hong Kong’s financial centre status’.
This sentiment is echoed in major business sentiment surveys. Both the American Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong government business sentiment survey find that the rule of law, independent judiciary, free information flows and the integrity of the ‘one-country, two systems’ framework are paramount to businesses choosing Hong Kong.
Rule of law and freedoms under threat
Events of recent years have placed these qualities under threat. In recent years Hong Kong has seen core freedoms being eroded at speed. Booksellers have been abducted, student protestors have been imprisoned, political candidates have been disqualified from running for election and legislators have been barred from the city’s legislature. Press freedom, academic freedom and the rule of law are all facing pressures in an atmosphere where Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule increasingly limits freedom.
The rule of law has by and large remained intact, but the increasing interference of Beijing through ‘interpretations’ of the Basic Law, and then the proposed extradition and mutual legal assistance legislation which sparked the mass protests in 2019 provided ominous signs. The retired Court of Final Appeal Judge, Kemal Bokhary, recently said that Hong Kong’s legal system was facing a ‘storm of unprecedented ferocity.’
The erosion of freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong has further implications, as these qualities are widely seen to be a proxy for the city’s autonomy under the one-country, two-systems framework.
Evidence that the city is insufficiently autonomous places Hong Kong’s special treatment by the United States under the US-Hong Kong Policy Act at risk.
In a valedictory op-ed for Bloomberg, Kurt Tong, the former Consul General in Hong Kong wrote: ‘Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy is the necessary ingredient for this success. China’s growing encroachments on that autonomy, however, pose a very real threat to the city’s special status and future competitiveness.’
Pressures from the protests on Hong Kong as an international financial centre
The protests, and particularly the authorities’ reaction to them, have intensified the pressures on the rule of law, freedom and autonomy. Beijing’s response to protests has exposed the limits of Carrie Lam’s autonomy, and the limits to their willingness to abide by international human rights norms. The use of the Emergency Regulations Ordinance and the impunity granted to police officers has stretched the rule of law to its limits.
Political instability seems permanent. This has seen Hong Kong downgraded by prominent rating agencies, and leading business leaders raise concerns about the impact of this instability for Hong Kong’s long-term image.
Businesses have come under political pressure from both sides, which increases the political risk of domiciling in Hong Kong, again undermining the city’s attractiveness.
Conclusion
The report explores what business leaders find valuable in Hong Kong, and the threat that the city’s unique characteristics currently face. Repeatedly they point to the rule of law and fundamental freedoms, alongside low tax and deregulation, as being fundamental to the city. It is in nobody’s interests for the city to lose its uniqueness. The Hong Kong government, their counterparts in Beijing, and international governments should recognise that the preservation of the rule of law and fundamental freedoms is not only morally right, it is in their interests.
Recommendations
To the Government of the People’s Republic of China
• Prioritise the freedoms and rule of law which allow Hong Kong to be a major
international financial centre;
• Encourage the government of Hong Kong to introduce political reforms and universal
suffrage in order to tackle the root cause of unrest, and combat political instability;
• Encourage the government of Hong Kong to initiate an independent inquiry into the
events of recent months in order to begin reconciliation;
To the Government of Hong Kong
• Uphold rule of law and fundamental freedoms;
• Introduce political reforms, including reforms of public order legislation and the
introduction of universal suffrage;
• Establish an independent inquiry into the protests;
To the international business community
• Use research and advocacy capacity to encourage the Chinese government and
international governments to recognise the importance of the sustainability of Hong
Kong’s one-country, two-systems arrangement;
To international governments
• Research the role of Hong Kong in the region to understand the significance of the
city’s freedoms and rule of law;
• Work collaboratively with like-minded countries to monitor and defend freedom and
the rule of law in Hong Kong, as established under the one-country, two-systems
principle;
• Work with the Hong Kong SAR government to provide expertise and knowledge
required to build sustainable institutions and promote reconciliation.
Acknowledgements
Hong Kong Watch would like to thank the economists and other experts who helped to proof and inform the findings of this report. We are grateful to Calum Muirhead for his role in proofing a number of the chapters.
