For Hong Kong to thrive, the private sector must rise to the challenge

The past will not deliver the future – the art and culture, hotel, restaurant and entertainment sectors must all take responsibility to identify and embrace today’s vastly different economic opportunities

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Damien Green

Damien Green is a Hong Kong based financial services executive.

Published: 9:15am, 23 Apr 2024Updated: 10:18am, 23 Apr 2024

Businesses in Hong Kong are hoping for a boost from visitors over mainland China’s Labour Day “golden week” holiday. But hope cannot be a substitute for action in this difficult environment, and it is up to us whether Hong Kong’s economy perishes under the fiery challenges or finds a transformative rebirth – like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

In Chinese mythology, the phoenix represents resilience, duty, propriety and virtue. Perhaps it should be the symbol of our times: Hongkongers must take more individual and collective responsibility for the city’s economic future.

The past will not deliver the future for Hong Kong and the private sector needs to take on more direct responsibility, to identify and embrace today’s vastly different economic opportunities.

The first step is to not let the economic comparisons of Hong Kong today vs pre-2019 cloud emerging evidence that points to new growth opportunities. After the triple torpedoes to Hong Kong – from the 2019 riots and the Covid-19 pandemic to the new geopolitical environment – the city has entered a new era. Let’s call this “post-2020 Hong Kong”.