2023-08-24 19:31:19
Business is picking up in Hong Kong. Every day from early morning, in the heart of the tourist district of Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon peninsula, long queues form in front of the flamboyant boutiques of Chanel, Dior, Hermès… «I have been queuing for two hours, but I want to be sure to be able to buy the latest creations from the biggest brands that are not yet available in China”explains the young Hong Fei, 26, who came from the central province of Hunan to spend a few days of vacation, or rather “shopping”, in Hong Kong.
After two years of closure, Hong Kong reopened its borders at the start of the year, and Chinese tourists are once again pouring into the former British colony returned to China in 1997. To the great satisfaction of Hong Kong traders, isolated from the world during two years of Covid pandemic.
“In Hong Kong it’s authentic”
« For us mainland Chinese, Hong Kong remains a very different city apart. Sure, I know Hong Kong is now part of China, but it’s still special adds Xiao Mi, 28. Like her friend Hong, she has a degree in computer science.
« By buying our Dior handbags, our Hermès scarves and our Chanel jewelry, we are sure that they are “real” and not copies. Here it’s authentic and guaranteed, not like in China where everything is fake», she explains. And to continue by indicating that other Chinese tourists come to Hong Kong to buy medicines or powdered milk “guaranteed authentic”.
These testimonials from tourists reveal the specificity of Hong Kong. Despite China’s political repression since the 2019 pro-democracy protests, the territory remains unique when it comes to trade and business. “If political freedoms are destroyedsays a lawyer from the Central business district who wishes to remain anonymous, Beijing is taking great care to preserve business law to maintain trust because China still needs Hong Kong.»
Hong Kong remains a “gateway” to China
Even if its image was deeply tarnished by the police repression of the summer of 2019, Hong Kong is slowly recovering and the local authorities have launched a major seduction campaign to bring back tourists and foreign businessmen, two essential sectors of its economy.
The economy of the city of seven million people fell into recession in 2019 and 2020. But it rebounded in 2021 with growth of 6.4%. And it recorded a 2.7% increase in its gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2023. It unveiled a series of fiscal and social measures to revive its economy and intends to use its enormous reserves, of nearly 100 billion euros to finance its budget deficit.
“Hong Kong legally protects contracts signed with China”
Contrary to all the most pessimistic predictions, China did not kill the “goose that lays the golden egg”. Hong Kong remains a gateway to mainland China. “China still needs Hong Kong which maintains an open economy status, a stable currency pegged to the dollar and low customs duties”explains a European economic adviser. ” Moreover, when you sign a business contract in Hong Kong with a mainland Chinese company, you are protected by local law and you have legal recourse, which is almost impossible in China. »
Conversely, Hong Kong also plays a role as an exit door for Chinese capital from large companies that want to be listed on the stock exchange (60% of the stocks on the local stock exchange are Chinese) but also for the very wealthy Chinese who want to put on the market. shelter part of their heritage.
800,000 millionaires in China
The number of millionaires in China is estimated at more than 800,000, and many of them leave China or put their money overseas. According to the consulting agency Henley & Partners, more than a thousand have migrated to Hong Kong each year for the past three years.
“There are huge sums of money in accounts in China waiting to be exfiltrated », Assures a European diplomat in Hong Kong, long in post in Beijing. ” Chinese billionaires invest here in real estate or in companies, resell, recover their money and deposit it in banks in Singapore or Switzerland. Hong Kong remains an indispensable place of exchange between China and the outside world.
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