City Beat | Warmer-than-ever China-Saudi ties offer Hong Kong a golden opportunity – if the city does its homework
- Fast-changing Saudi Arabia is eager for foreign capital, including from Hong Kong. But the city needs to do its homework to enter a crowded market
- Hong Kong should reach out to its citizens in the Middle East who have the experience, connections and expertise to build trust and spur investments
That provided the backdrop for when I recently joined a local business delegation led by tycoon Ronnie Chan, chairman of the non-profit Better Hong Kong Foundation, on a fact-finding and exchange visit to the country.
It turned out to be an eye-opening and thought-provoking experience. The many first-hand insights from senior Saudi officials, business leaders and academics should provide plenty of food for thought if Hong Kong wants to catch up in this competitive market.
The “go Saudi” journey for Hong Kong investors is still in its infancy – “go see and explore” would be a better way of summing up the sentiment of the business elite. They have extensive overseas investment experience, but Saudi Arabia is still virtually unexplored territory to them.
Until this visit, none had set foot in that part of the world except Chan, who already has good connections there. But taking into account his last visit was more than 10 years ago, he reminded everyone that this was not a trip to “make deals” but to “learn”.
