HONG KONG CHRONICLES — 13th October 2023

𝗠𝗬 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗔𝗦.

𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗣𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗠𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗢𝗡𝗚

Musician-turned-designer Pharrell Williams will hold his second show as creative director for Louis Vuitton in Hong Kong, the brand announced on Tuesday.

Williams will hold a “pre-fall show” for his menswear line in Hong Kong on 30 November, following his glitzy debut at Paris Fashion Week in June. Choosing Hong Kong emphasises the importance of Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong consumers to Louis Vuitton, which said it “found the cultural vibrancy of this island archipelago an ongoing source of inspiration.”

Forget the fashion though. How can we persuade Mr Williams to put on a concert or two?

𝗧𝗪𝗢-𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗡

Well, last week’s prediction of the T3 signal staying up all weekend was way off target, as the Observatory increased the storm signal to a T9 on Saturday, and the SAR experienced a two-day typhoon, thanks to the eyewall of Typhoon Koinu’s slow approach to the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary, bringing gales to many parts of the territory, with occasional storm force winds offshore and on high ground.

Schools and offices were closed on Monday. Apparently, no-one was too sad.

𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

The media has been focusing its attention on an alarmingly name construction company called “Aggressive Construction” which has witnessed the death of five of its workers in the past year. Hong Kong labour rights campaigners and a lawmaker have called for harsh measures.

The Development Bureau has said it is banning Aggressive from tendering for any more government contracts for 15 months, until the end of 2023. However, this does not affect any of its existing contracts, including the main contractor job with the Architectural Services Department at the West Kowloon site of yesterday’s tragic death.

𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗦𝗚 𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗔

A brief plug for my own firm — the third annual ESG Monitor from SEC Newgate Group found that there has been a sharp increase in community interest in ESG issues despite widespread concern about other cost-of-living pressures, across Hong Kong.

Some of the main findings in Hong Kong include:
- 85% of people are aware of ESG, up 15% since last year, and versus only 53% globally.
- Interest in ESG in Hong Kong has jumped to 71%, up by 21% since 2023, and above the global average of 67%.
- Hongkongers are also leading the charge globally in terms of conscious consumerism: ESG issues are influencing their decisions in a wide range of areas, in particular the types of products they buy (71%, compared to 62% globally) and the foods they eat (68% versus 62% globally).

Overall, respondents in Hong Kong placed higher importance on many ESG aspects compared to other markets.

Until next week …