Is Hong Kong perfect mix of East and West?
It’s free economy and rule of law stands out from the rest of Asian markets. Renowned for its hard and soft assets, the cost of living takes away from the quality of life that you would otherwise expect there. A Hub of technology and business, the small Special Administrative Region (SAR) is different than other cities in Asia, and stands on its own connecting continents, globally.
Hong Kong has always been a destination to me. In my years before travelling, my visions of the city were depicted by classic James Bond and Bruce Lee films…while some of the scenes there remain unchanged, there is a lot that hasn’t remained the same.
Hong Kong, Is it China? Is it United Kingdom? Is it independent?
The answer is not clear depending on your perspective. The Hong Kong Dollar is different than the Chinese Yeun. The passport and immigration channels are looking for your HKSAR passport, though the visa seems a relatively simple ask, at least as a Canadian citizen that is..you can leave the country for a few hours and get a new three month visitors visa. The Legal system is also independent of China’s, at least for the next few decades, after its independence from the UK in 1997, the post handover agreement of the colony includes 50 years of freedom of governance. You might find the Chinese flags flying from government buildings and Beijing appointing the Chief Executive who runs the city, it isn’t quite independent either.
Hong Kong has achieved impressive progress as Asia’s top city. Reflected in various international rankings covering economy, business, finance, transportation, infrastructure, security, safety, and rule of law.
A series of world top ranking honors in finance; №1 in Initial Public Offering (IPO) funds raised in 2018, №1 environment for IPO, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity for global transactions forecasted in 2019 (Baker McKenzie & Oxford Economics) and most impressive is the combined fund management business at end-2016 amounted to HK$18.3 trillion (approx. US$2.3 trillion), up 5.2% from 2015. In economy and business; Hong Kong is ranked world №1 freest economy for the past 24 years by the US-based Heritage Foundation as well as economic freedom since 1996 (Canada-based Fraser Institute) and the world’s most business-friendly tax system.
Hong Kong ranks pretty high in the Human Development Index (HDI) as well, which is assessed by life expectancy at birth, the education dimension is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years and more and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age. The standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita. Tied at 7th with Sweden, it out ranks Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom at 12th-14th respectively.
The city now hosts 48 of the top-100 fintech companies in the world, according to IDC Financial Insight 2015. The community at large gets credit for its development, there has been a vast increase in incubation and acceleration programs over the past eight years, growing from three in 2010 to over 40 in 2015! There are 122 venture capital firms from the region listed on Crunchbase, some known for their early stage investments including Arbor Ventures, Legend Capital, Nest Ideas, and Mindworks Ventures to name a few.
Sounds great doesn’t it?
It’s not without its downside, naturally. Another №1 for Hong Kong places them at the highest cost of living in the Mercer worldwide ranking for 2018. Followed by Tokyo and Zurich, and only up by one position from last year. It makes sense considering it’s million millionaires last year, up 15 per cent from a year earlier, 68,000 of whom have at least HK$10 million (US$1.27 million), according to a Citibank study.
You can expect that finding a suitable apartment can be more competitive than finding the your dream job there. A 209-sq ft flat at the Pok Fu Lam neighbourhood on Hong Kong Island sold for HK$37,651 per square foot, a record price for so-called micro-apartments in the city. While all that Liquid cash is great for business, its wreaking havoc on the locals and pushing gentrification deeper and deeper. You can stroll around the Island on the weekend and see thousands upon thousands of the city’s workforce trying to enjoy the day by trading goods in makeshift markets for some extra income or avoiding the blistering heat by setting up cardboard boxes in the subways and playing cards with their colleagues.
With 1 in 7 millionaires you are in good company when starting up a new endeavour. Meetups and Conferences are abundant as well, BitcoinHK runs a large Bitcoin and Ethereum group and in that market alone you can see a half dozen events weekly to engage and network in. Genesis Block events can be found held regularly at Bitwork coworspaces. InvestHK, a government organization focused on foreign direct investment hosts regular events to boost the city’s business sector.
Startmeup conference launched in 2013 to promote Hong Kong as a startup destination, connect entrepreneurs, and create a vibrant ecosystem that draws innovative, high impact ventures from around the world, Fintech Week is a cross-border financial technology event attracting more than 8000 senior executives and featuring over 200 of the world’s top FinTech founders, investors, regulators, and academics, and in 2019 is hosting Rise Conf, produced by the team behind Web Summit, Europe’s largest tech conference. Ideal candidates for the evedo ecosystem, capable of managing large events as well as ticket sales at 0% commission to the end user.
evedo’s event management platform (B2B) allows organizers to manage speakers, venues, and staff in a single Saas platform for a very small fee, as well as host their landing pages on a custom domain. Evedo’s ticket marketplace (B2C) can be up and running within minutes to sell tickets, engage the community, and manage merchandise sales under the organizations custom branding under their subscription model. Using smart contracts on the ethereum network, the whole process is transparent and secure on the blockchain. Expect to see the Alpha in Q1 of 2019 and join their ICO whitelist on www.evedo.co today to be up to date on the details.
Nothing is without it’s downside, is there? I mean, all those millionaires still have to pay the mortgage. If you are considering making the move, I completely endorse Hong Kong. Just make sure you have a role and an apartment waiting for you before you pack your bags and buy your ticket. The opportunities in Hong Kong are pretty limitless to a properly motivated individual. I love it here, at least the dumplings and dim sum are still affordable.
If you are an Investor or VC in the crypto market looking to expand your portfolio and find your unicorn, feel free to connect with me. I would love to get more insight on what you are looking for when investing in what is next for web 3.0
“Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.” — Napolean Hill
What are your thoughts about Hong Kong? Are there any other organizations or events that are the cornerstone to the global technology startup ecosystem that are worth a mention? Let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear opinion.
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