Interview
Why Entrepreneurs Should Explore Hong Kong An Interview With Simon Galpin
T By Kelly Dolan
his year, Forbes rated Hong Kong number one in its list of the world’s top tech capitals
as it fast becomes a leading international business centre and exciting ecosystem
for
entrepreneurs with global ambitions. In light of the region’s growing potential, Invest Hong Kong, a
government
department set up in 2000, are supporting overseas and mainland businesses launch and expand in China and Asia.
This month I spoke to Simon Galpin, Director General of InvestHK (pictured, right), on why Hong Kong has a wealth of unrealised potential and is now becoming one of the world’s leading start-up hubs.
How is InvestHK supporting entrepreneurs wanting to venture into Asia?
Over the years the big firms have been well represented in Hong Kong and many have been there for a long time, but what we noticed is that there are a growing number of SME’s from the UK coming out to Asia and using Hong Kong as their starting point. Today, about 20% of the 700 companies we work with are entrepreneur-led firms and so with the support of Hong Kong’s start- up community we launched www.
startmeup.hk – a website that can be used as a tool so that entrepreneurs
16 entrepreneurcountry
have a one-stop shop that they can turn to for information. We offer advice and support entrepreneurs every step of the way - through seminars, networking events, workshops, funding opportunities - as well as a range of resources to support your business journey.
Why does Hong Kong appeal to entrepreneurs with global ambitions?
We have really low barriers to entry - you only need one Hong Kong Dollar, one director and one hour to register a company there! It’s well connected, cosmopolitan, you have manufacturing power on your doorstep and in many ways it’s very similar to London. There is also a lot of wealth and an educated, global mindset across the population. You can get a lot done in a short space of time because everything is very compact – making it easy to get around to meetings and of course to network. The only downside is you get spoilt – it becomes very difficult living anywhere else!
What types of entrepreneurs are you looking for and why?
We want to attract entrepreneurs with new products, new techniques and new technologies. Much of our work is actually about increasing the level of competition in Hong Kong so that it becomes more competitive globally. Strong areas for us are digital marketing, financial services and retail tech.
Is Hong Kong investor friendly?
We’d like to think so. For UK
companies there will be a lot of familiarity and Hong Kong has an English common law jurisdiction, and of course English is the official language. There are a lot of VCs setting up in Hong Kong because it’s free from red tape and corruption - it is also a very low-tax environment. Overall it’s a very simple place for entrepreneurs to
settle and start
doing business, both from a social side to move to and settle in quite quickly and from a business side. Everything is very, very efficient and it’s a fantastic base to launch your business.
InvestHK will be exhibiting at the EC Forum on 30th September. To find out more please visit their stand on the day or visit
www.investhk.gov.hk
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