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Hong Kong society
OpinionHong Kong Opinion
Kavi Harilela
Kavi Harilela

Opinion | To restore its financial dynamism, Hong Kong must truly embrace diversity

  • Amid a series of setbacks, Hong Kong remains stuck in the past when it comes to cultivating foreign talent and capital from emerging markets
  • By establishing itself as a hub that celebrates innovation and multiculturalism, the city can attract top-tier professionals from around the globe

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Pedestrians cross a street in Central district, Hong Kong, on August 1, 2022. To thrive in the evolving landscape, the city must focus on redefining its identity to attract a diverse pool of talent. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Kavi Harilela
Hong Kong stands today as a city grappling with an increasingly blurred sense of identity. On social media platforms, jibes about its status as a former international financial centre abound, amplified by a series of incidents that have cast shadows on the city’s once-alluring image.
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Amid daily interactions with high-net-worth individuals from across the globe, a lingering doubt pervades the air, akin to an unresolved melody. The profound question echoing through these encounters resonates deeply. Can this vibrant financial epicentre uphold its elite talent pool and magnetism for global capital?
Hong Kong’s talent shortage has become an obstacle to attracting capital from some emerging markets, such as India or those in Southeast Asia. This is the impression I have gradually acquired in recent years.
As a third-generation Hongkonger hailing from an Indian family that has been in the city for more than a century, I have met many investors and high-net-worth individuals from Southeast Asia and other emerging markets who question Hong Kong’s status as an international financial hub. When I inquire about their reasons, they often respond with statements such as “operating costs are too high” or that “there’s a lack of community or suitable talent”. Unfortunately, they’re right in a way.

Hong Kong has a remarkably long history as being one of the world’s financial centres equipped with the rule of law. But it has been stuck in the past for too long. The financial system is used to standardise big corporations from the US, Europe or the Chinese mainland. The needs of those from emerging markets have sometimes been ignored.

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As the world evolves, Hong Kong’s financial system is struggling to swiftly adapt to the intricacies of emerging markets that encompass diverse languages, cultures, religions and legal frameworks across various countries.

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