My colleague and I recently spent a few jam-packed days in Hong Kong on business. The former British colony in Southeastern China is famous for many things – from high speed trains, street markets and gleamingi skyscrapers to one of the world’s busiest ports and global financial expertise. But what I remember most is the people, their “never say die” spirit, the incredible food and the surprising optimism despite the uncertainty that lies ahead.
Economic growth in China declining
In the course of a busy day, I first met with a dynamic Hong Kong Chinese woman who is starting an events management agency in mainland China. A former colleague from my days of living in Beijing and Hong Kong, she’s unfazed by the slowdown in the Chinese economy – the OECD says economic growth will decline to 6.2% by 2017 – because she believes quality of service will differentiate her from her local competition.
Consulting rates vary across Asia Pacific
Next I met with the Australian head of a financial communications agency with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. His business is growing fast in the established hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore, but the strategy for mainland China is unclear. Our discussion revolved around the growing sophistication of Chinese multinationals regarding public affairs but the occasional unwillingness to pay for quality consulting. We also discussed how to manage the differences in consulting rates across the region (i.e. Japan on the high end and India and China on the low end).
Media perspective
Over a lunch of Beijing-style noodles and dim sum I met a longtime friend and reporter for the South China Morning Post. He too sounded warning bells for China’s economy after interviewing many business leaders in recent months.
After a quick conference call with a client in the U.S., I hustled over to one more meeting with an Asia Pacific corporate communications leader at a major engineering firm. She confirmed that an industrial manufacturing decline is well underway, not only in China, but in also other markets.
Political uncertainty
In the evening, I met with a Hong Kong-based crisis communications consultant who is originally from the U.S. We discussed many topics, from the APEC summit to China and India’s role at the climate change conference in Paris, areas of dispute in the South China sea, and the incredible youth and vitality of those working in Hong Kong, the last of which made us all feel a bit old.
The next day we had a chance to hike the Dragon’s Back trail on Hong Kong island to Big Wave Bay. Swimming in the warm waters not far from one of the world’s business financial districts provided the first quiet moment of reflection in 24 hours. Next onto Kuala Lumpur for five days of strategic communications workshops.
Interested to hear more about where we think Hong Kong and the rest of Asia is heading? Need to train your leaders or communications team? Contact info@thetantalusgroup.com or wylie@thetantalusgroup.com.
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