Before I moved to Hong Kong, there was a lot I didn't know about it (there still is lots left to discover). Here are the key things I think are worth knowing if you're thinking about moving to Hong Kong or are curious about start up life here.
5. HONG KONG WHAT? 5
3. BUT YES, IT’S IN CHINA. KIND OF.
‣ Special
Administrative
Region
‣ The
Handover
in
1997
‣ Of<icial
language:
English
and
Cantonese
‣ Education
system
6. HONG KONG VS. MAINLAND CHINA 6
CENSORSHIP
‣ Mainland
China
second
to
Iran
‣ 2010
–
Google
re-‐routed
all
internet
traf<ic
through
HK
‣ Facebook
is
blocked
8. HONG KONG VS. MAINLAND CHINA
TRUST
8
‣ Quality
standards
‣ Strong
legal
system
‣ Brand
names
‣ Foreign
brand
9. HONG KONG WHAT? 9
4. TECH AND MOBILE ARE ALL THE RAGE.
‣ 90% of
residents
have
internet
access
(vs.
80%
in
US
vs.
66%
in
Shanghai)
‣ 55 MPBS average
internet
speed
(vs.
36mbps
in
US,
5
in
Shanghai)
‣ 2.3 MOBILE PHONES per
person
(vs.
1.03
in
the
US
and
0.85
in
China)
10. HONG KONG WHAT? 10
5. HONG KONG <3 BUSINESS
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
China Middle East &
North Africa
East Asia &
Pacific
Eastern
Europe &
Central Asia
United
Kingdom
United States Hong Kong
SAR, China
Procedures (number)
Time (days)
Cost (% of income per
capita)
Paid-in Min. Capital (%
of income per capita)
11. HONG KONG WHAT? 11
FREEDOM, SUPPORT & PROTECTIONS
‣ ECONOMIC FREEDOM best
place
for
business,
#1
freest
economy
‣ GOVERNMENT SUPPORT low
tax
rates
‣ GATEWAY TO CHINA fastest
growing
consumer
economy
in
the
world
‣ LEGAL PROTECTION British
legal
system,
IP
laws
12. HONG KONG WHAT? 12
6. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE. LIKE, A LOT.
13. HONG KONG WHAT 13
133,000 people
per
km2
in
Mong
Kok
1 IN 6 cars
is
a
Mercedes
Benz
$233,000 USD
for
one
bottle
of
wine
15. HONG KONG WHAT? 15
7. ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS ESCALATING (LITERALLY)
16. ‣ #1 Top
Tech
Capital
to
watch,
according
to
Forbes
(after
SF
and
NY)
‣ 150x square
footage
of
co-‐work
space
as
there
was
12
months
ago
‣ 150,000 new
businesses
launched
in
2011
(vs.
65,000
in
NY)
17. COME SAY HI.
@allison_baum
allisonb@frescocapital.com