HSBC encourages young people to forge ahead, but remains cautious towards lending for start-ups
The South China Morning Post posed five key questions to all interviewees in the Moving Forward series, seeking their views on the city’s future. Here are the views of Peter Wong Tung-shun, Asia-Pacific head of global bank HSBC
Do you think Hong Kong is still an ideal place to do business?
Absolutely. Hong Kong is an international financial centre. It is a relatively safe city and it is part of China. Hong Kong is the only international financial centre in the country. Shanghai has been growing in recent years but it would take time for it to become an international financial centre.
How is HSBC coping with the economic downturn in Hong Kong and the mainland?
We believe worry about the economic slowdown is overstated. China has conducted a lot of reforms and has introduced a lot of measures to improve economic growth. Also, when we talk about a China slowdown, we need to look at what this means for different economic segments. Trade, steel and cement have negative growth in China, but then innovative industries like the technology sector and services have all grown well. In addition, China has a growing number of middle class people and Chinese companies have been looking to invest in overseas markets.
We have been in Hong Kong for 151 years and we have gone through many ups and downs. We have always coped with these changes through adjusting our business model, which has evolved. We developed lending to manufacturers in the 1970s, then we expanded into the wealth management and residential mortgage lending business in the early 1990s. Looking ahead, we will offer digital banking and expand retail banking in Guangdong to new customers. Our global network can help mainland companies to in cross border trading and transactions.
What do you think the government should do to help your business to do better?
