HK’s competitiveness falls behind major mainland cities

[TaiShang]

HK’s competitiveness falls behind major mainland cities
By Felix Gao in Hong Kong

In a picture taken on April 24, 2015, people walk at the Lo Wu train station near the border with Hong Kong, in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. (AFP PHOTO / FRED DUFOUR)

Hong Kong’s comprehensive competitiveness among the country’s provincial-level regions fell 5 places to 12th, while Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces topped the ranking, results of the China Institute of City Competitiveness’ survey show.

The SAR’s growth competitiveness ranked only 24th among all 34 provincial-level regions. But it still topped the per capita wealth competitiveness ranking, and was named the most internationally influential city of China.

The institute said Hong Kong’s comprehensive competitiveness has been declining in recent years, as the mainland’s economy has maintained a robust annual growth rate for many years and the rapidly developing major cities, Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, are challenging the position of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong led the nation’s list of the most competitive cities for 12 years in a row until it was surpassed by Shanghai in 2013, according to the institute. In a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences research released this May, Hong Kong lost its top ranking in competitiveness for the first time in 13 years, trumped by its neighbor Shenzhen.

The report noted that Hong Kong has lost its long-term competitive advantage, as its industrial structure is lacking in diversity and it has no real economy. Hong Kong’s gross domestic product (GDP) was surpassed by Shanghai and is predicted to be surpassed by Guangzhou and Shenzhen this year, and more mainland cities after 2016.

Hong Kong’s insufficient land supply and its monopolized real estate market have led to high property prices. The high cost of living has restricted the development of Hong Kong and undermined its competitiveness, said the report.

The city is also suffering from its lack of innovation while scientific research personnel and research funding are in short supply. Its total investment in research and development in 2013 amounted to HK$15.6 billion, accounting for 0.75 percent of GDP, compared with 2.08 percent on the mainland and 0.98 in Kenya, according to the institute.

Gui Qiangfang, president of the institute, said Hong Kong still has other advantages. “Hong Kong has been ranked as the world’s freest economy. The city’s simple tax regime, low tax rates, sound legal system, clean government and high quality education are cornerstones of its competitiveness,” he said.

Gui suggested that Hong Kong government should set up a study group to draft a strategic plan on long-term competitiveness. He said increasing innovation investment is crucial to the city’s future development.

"Hong Kong should learn from the success of Shanghai and Shenzhen. Collaboration with Pearl River Delta cities and other mainland cities is also necessary,” said Gui.

Hong Kong can also enhance its competitiveness by actively taking part in mainland’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, he added.

 

[Kyle Sun]

What's average salary of HKers ?

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

The reform will be imminent for HK.

 

[Beidou2020]

This is great news.

Hong Kongers arrogance of being 'superior' must be given a firm blow.

Nothing will dismantle that smug arrogance than taking away their economic and financial importance to Mainland China.

 

[TaiShang]

HK must urgently be made a full, regular Chinese city, otherwise, they will become a trash hole with no real economy and brain power.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

The problem of HK is that she refuse to follow Maoism of 分田分地真忙. And CPC today always work with the elites, again she forgotten Mao's warning against 脱离群众。

While the full Maoism is a too toxic chemo, HK nevertheless need some Maoism.

Meanwhile HK tycoon fear democracy more than CPC. They know that the people is going to elect a Maoist to go after them. CPC is unfortunate to be the 挡箭牌

The wealth of the rich should be distributed and the city will be invigorated.

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

The problem of HK is that she refuse to follow Maoism of 分田分地真忙. And CPC today always work with the elites, again she forgotten Mao's warning against 脱离群众。

While the full Maoism is a too toxic chemo, HK nevertheless need some Maoism.

Meanwhile HK tycoon fear democracy more than CPC. They know that the people is going to elect a Maoist to go after them. CPC is unfortunate to be the 挡箭牌

The wealth of the rich should be distributed and the city will be invigorated.

The Maoism is good, but no matter how good a thing is, you can never overdose it.

So a good amount of moderate Maoism will help to cure HK's illness, it can also help CPC to get back to the right track and being closer to the Maoism.

 

[Huan]

HK must urgently be made a full, regular Chinese city, otherwise, they will become a trash hole with no real economy and brain power.

Well, do PLA navy ships routinely park in Hong Kong's port now?

 

[Shotgunner51]

Well, do PLA navy ships routinely park in Hong Kong's port now?

Yes always, PLA HK-Brigade has a naval detachment permenantly based there.

 

[Raphael]

This is great news.

Hong Kongers arrogance of being 'superior' must be given a firm blow.

Nothing will dismantle that smug arrogance than taking away their economic and financial importance to Mainland China.

Ultimately, HK is still our city; there's no benefit to us to see it decay like this. Let's not fall into the West's divide-and-rule trap.

HK's problem is that it tries too hard to follow the parasitic Anglo economic model of putting all your chips into finance and real estate (wealth transfer/management), and neglecting industries that create real wealth. Also, their city is being strangled and held hostage by extremist populists and foreign agitators that are screaming for 'democracy' and scaring away investors with their radical rhetoric. How can any businesses maintain their confidence if their stores are about to ransacked and looted by 'protestors' who think everyone and everything must be subverted to their political agenda, and who will blockade and smash your store even if you stay neutral?

20 years ago, HKers looked down on Shenzheners. But Shenzheners took no notice and quietly got on with their lives. Now in 2015, Shenzhen has Tencent, Huawei, DJI, Oneplus, etc to show for its tech prowess, whereas HK has nothing. Right now, HK does not need 'democracy' (i.e. color revolution), unless is wants to look as anarchic as Ukraine or ISIS-controlled Syria/Iraq. It needs discipline and a thorough purging of western influences that encourage entitlement, indolence, hedonism, self-indulgence, childishness, and everything else that is killing its economy.

 

[TaiShang]

Ultimately, HK is still our city; there's no benefit to us to see it decay like this. Let's not fall into the West's divide-and-rule trap.

HK's problem is that it tries too hard to follow the parasitic Anglo economic model of putting all your chips into finance and real estate (wealth transfer/management), and neglecting industries that create real wealth. Also, their city is being strangled and held hostage by extremist populists and foreign agitators that are screaming for 'democracy' and scaring away investors with their radical rhetoric. How can any businesses maintain their confidence if their stores are about to ransacked and looted by 'protestors' who think everyone and everything must be subverted to their political agenda, and who will blockade and smash your store even if you stay neutral?

20 years ago, HKers looked down on Shenzheners. But Shenzheners took no notice and quietly got on with their lives. Now in 2015, Shenzhen has Tencent, Huawei, DJI, Oneplus, etc to show for its tech prowess, whereas HK has nothing. Right now, HK does not need 'democracy' (i.e. color revolution), unless is wants to look as anarchic as Ukraine or ISIS-controlled Syria/Iraq. It needs discipline and a thorough purging of western influences that encourage entitlement, indolence, hedonism, self-indulgence, childishness, and everything else that is killing its economy.

I agree, at the end of the day, HK is one of China's cities. Its demise would also create some headache for Beijing. Nonetheless, it is perhaps good to see the superiority complex is slowly being eroded. This will hopefully lead to cooler heads and the larger society will effectively control and pacify the radicals, provocateurs and terrorists.

**

Number of mainland students heading to HK universities drops by over 30 percent
2015-6-24 0:08:09

The number of Chinese mainland students applying to Hong Kong universities has dropped by more than 30 percent, according to several local universities, with observers claiming the decline was likely prompted by the region's unstable political environment.The application deadline for undergraduate degree programs in Hong Kong universities has just passed. Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) told the Global Times that they have received 2,319 applications from mainland students this year, a 40 percent decrease compared with last year.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University told the Global Times that they have received about 2,300 applications from mainlanders this year, a 34 percent year on year drop.

Lingnan University said they received 556 applications this year, down from 928 in 2014.

A HKBU spokesperson said that most mainland applicants come from Guangdong Province, Shandong Province and Beijing, and the most popular majors are business administration, communications and science.

He said the university is not surprised by this drop as more and more mainland students are studying abroad. However, admission is still competitive due to limits placed on the number of mainland students HKBU can accept.

Tian Feilong, a law professor at Beihang University in Beijing, told the Global Times that the declining number of mainland applications is partially due to the Occupy protests and the unstable political atmosphere they created.

"Following the Occupy protests, conflicts between Hong Kong and mainland students have increased because of political reasons, many outstanding mainland students may not be willing to study in Hong Kong as they fear isolation or criticism," he said.

He pointed out that the mainland's education system and university culture and those found in Hong Kong are different. Hong Kong's are more westernized and lack a sense of patriotism, with which mainland students may not be familiar.

"In fact, the number of mainland students staying in Hong Kong after graduation has also been decreasing," he added.

Cheung Man-ping, chairman of the Hong Kong Education Policy Concern Organization, also said the recent protests in Hong Kong have provoked parents' concern over their children's safety and they worry that the protests may affect their offspring's studies.

 

[Shotgunner51]

Hong Kong’s comprehensive competitiveness among the country’s provincial-level regions fell 5 places to 12th, while Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces topped the ranking, results of the China Institute of City Competitiveness’ survey show.

The nature of China Institute of City Competitiveness’ survey is a subjective appraisal, so it can be used as reference only.

The SAR’s growth competitiveness ranked only 24th among all 34 provincial-level regions. But it still topped the per capita wealth competitiveness ranking, and was named the most internationally influential city of China.

Yes, HK has high density of wealth (say % of household as millionaires), actually among the highest in the world.

Top 10 Weathiest Nations of the World
Millionaires control 41% of world's wealth, expected to take more​

Moreover the core positioning of HK's economy is a financial/communications hub, agriculture/manufacturing will never play a critical role for the geographical size of it is a natural limitation, if industrialization is to be developed as a supplement the only possible sector is capital-intensive tech.

The only concern is right-wing extremists in HK might derail economic development by over-politicizing every agenda. The central government shall address this issue together with majority of HK people.

The city’s simple tax regime, low tax rates, sound legal system, clean government and high quality education are cornerstones of its competitiveness

IMO the four most values of Hong Kong are:

1. Sound legal system. The common law system in HK provides good foundation for being financial hub.
2. International free port, minimum barriers for people, merchandize, services, capital and idea to flow.
3. Clean & efficient public servants.
4. Comprehensive civil protection (med, education etc.) to ensure quality of populace.

Shanghai (where I am from) being the closest comparison with Hong Kong, has equally good hardware/infra, bigger population, more land, vast hinterland, however still lag behind in these areas of competitiveness.

Hong Kong will continue to be an international hub, a highly prosperous and developed economy, and a valuable learning subject for fellow Chinese cities.

@Chinese-Dragon

 

[TaiShang]

The nature of China Institute of City Competitiveness’ survey is a subjective appraisal, so it can be used as reference only.



Yes, HK has high density of wealth (say % of household as millionaires), actually among the highest in the world.

Top 10 Weathiest Nations of the World
Millionaires control 41% of world's wealth, expected to take more​

Moreover the core positioning of HK's economy is a financial/communications hub, agriculture/manufacturing will never play a critical role for the geographical size of it is a natural limitation, if industrialization is to be developed as a supplement the only possible sector is capital-intensive tech.

The only concern is right-wing extremists in HK might derail economic development by over-politicizing every agenda. The central government shall address this issue together with majority of HK people.



IMO the four most values of Hong Kong are:

1. Sound legal system. The common law system in HK provides good foundation for being financial hub.
2. International free port, minimum barriers for people, merchandize, services, capital and idea to flow.
3. Clean & efficient public servants.
4. Comprehensive civil protection (med, education etc.) to ensure quality of populace.

Shanghai (where I am from) being the closest comparison with Hong Kong, has equally good hardware/infra, bigger population, more land, vast hinterland, however still lag behind in these areas of competitiveness.

Hong Kong will continue to be an international hub, a highly prosperous and developed economy, and a valuable learning subject for fellow Chinese cities.

@Chinese-Dragon

HK is just another city of China, albeit a precious one because of its certain strengths in finance and perhaps education. My point is, it was over-valued at one point mostly due to its other China peers were way left behind due to historical reasons.

Now things are getting back to normal. Good for Hong Kong, good for the rest of the nation.

 

[Lux de Veritas]

The ultimate way of HK after going back to China is, just a normal city at Guangzhou.

在中国里面，香港跟其他城市比，并没有优势，最终将成为中国三线城市。

And China would like HK power to decrease "relatively" vs other city but in absolute term, mainland will still allow HK to grow.

A powerful HK is also a secessionist HK.

The independent inclination of HK is due to fact that HK people think they are richer than PRC.

And the interesting thing is the most responsible one who screw HK is not Beijing but HK elites. Beijing by not following Mao's teaching of imposing socialism in HK is equivalent to 借刀杀人.

 

[Shotgunner51]

HK is just another city of China, albeit a precious one because of its certain strengths in finance and perhaps education. My point is, it was over-valued at one point mostly due to its other China peers were way left behind due to historical reasons

Yes HK is just another city of China, with a "slightly" different system. I suppose whether HK is "over-valued" or the other is a rhetoric issue. The facts are:

• Now that as other Chinese cities resume normality in economic terms (commensurate with population size, land size, hinterland), so yes HK is comparatively carrying less weight in an increased denominator.

• Yes HK has been growing slower than peer developing cities since it is already a developed economy.

• HK still possess the 4 characteristics (legal, free port, government, social) that other peers don't.

Now things are getting back to normal. Good for Hong Kong, good for the rest of the nation.

Well said, Hong Kong's betterment is good for the nation! Instead of looking forward to HK becoming just another Chinese city, I look forward to peers catching up with HK soon!