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The chairman of the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong; Dr. Derek Anthony, was interviewed by the Norwegian business newspaper, Dagens Næringsliv, on February 17 in Hong Kong.
An article about the interview was published in Dagens Næringsliv on March 24.

Download a PDF file with a scanned version of the article in Norwegian here: Nøkkelen til Kina (1.4 MB).

An English translation is available as a PDF file here: The Key to China.

19 Sept 2012

Beijing-based Aimer opened a flagship in Hong Kong in June. Located on vibrant Park Lane Shopper's Boulevard in Tsim Sha Tsui, and covering two floors with more than 3,000 square feet of space, the shop operates in a "lifestyle" format selling the group's main brands: Aimer, Aimer Men and Aimer Kids.

The brand has also established a design workshop in Hong Kong to develop new products for overseas markets. "It will make our designs more international," explained Sabrina Sun, General Manager, Aimer International Trading Co, Ltd.

Founded in 1993, Aimer Group is one of China's leading lingerie brands, creating high-end lingerie for women aged 25 to 40. Despite finding domestic success, Chinese brands such as Aimer face obstacles when looking to break into international markets.

China on the Rise

"Brand is a reflection of a culture and an ideology. As an original Chinese brand, our image is strongly tied with the increase of China's soft power," Ms Sun said. As a "rising China" is watched from around the world, she said, the country is also actively promoting its culture and building national brands.

With the international market highly mature and more competitive, Ms Sun said, "for a newcomer, building a brand name is not easy at all." Aimer needs to internationalise in terms of its talent, management and resources, Ms Sun continued. Hong Kong, she said, provides such opportunities.

"Hong Kong is an international city, a gateway to China, and a window for China to see the world," she said. "Hong Kong offers the best playing field and springboard for Chinese brands to go overseas because it is a market with international management, competition and professionals."

Ms Sun also cited the city's free-market policies and comprehensive legal system. But more important to its business, Hong Kong, she said, is "a hub for the latest fashion, and its connectivity with other parts of the world and cultural convergence of East and West provide a perfect platform for us to go global."

Click to read the rest of the article in HKTDC.

Business widely welcomed the Hong Kong Government's decision to construct a third runway for the city's airport. Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng announced last month that the Airport Authority of Hong Kong (AAHK) will proceed with an environmental impact assessment, and plan design details and financial arrangements. Ms Cheng emphasised the need for long-term airport planning, as air traffic in 2011 reached the forecast demand for 2013.

(Photo: Hong Kong International Airport, the world's busiest cargo hub, will get a third runway (Copyright: HKIA)

The Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) last year welcomed a record 53.9 million passengers and handled 333,760 aircraft movements last year, up 5.9 per cent and 8.9 per cent respectively, year-on-year. Although cargo performance decreased 4.6 per cent, to 3.9 million tonnes, reflecting the global slowdown, this followed a 16.5 per cent increase from a year earlier. The HKIA remains the world's busiest cargo gateway, a title it wrested from Memphis International Airport, the FedEx hub, in 2010. The HKIA has been the world's busiest.

(Photo: Eva Cheng, Secretary for Transport and Housing)

14 August 2012

The Hong Kong economy has moderated since the second quarter of 2011 amid slowdown in global demand. After expanding by 5% in 2011, GDP in real terms posted a year-on-year growth of 0.9% in the first half of 2012. In the first half of 2012, total exports of goods dropped 3% year-on-year while exports of services registered a mild growth of 2.5% year-on-year, both in real terms. However, the domestic sector continued to display strength and help cushion the overall economic performance. Private consumption saw a growth of 5.1% year-on-year in real terms and investment spending remained strong with a surge of 9% over a year earlier, buttressed by improved income and employment conditions, hectic public sector infrastructure works as well as private construction projects. Looking forward, the downside risks in the external environment remain notable, largely due to the lingering European sovereign debt crisis and fragile fundamentals of the advanced economies. The domestic sector, however, is expected to stay relatively resilient given the stable job conditions. The government revised its forecast on Hong Kong's GDP growth to 1-2% for 2012 in the latest round of forecast exercise in August.

Retail sales growth remained strong but moderated to 13.1% year-on-year in first half of 2012, after increasing by 24.9% in 2011. Local consumption demand and tourist spending remain fairly resilient to render some support to the retail business. The labour market conditions have also remained decent. The latest unemployment rate was 3.2% for the three-month period ending June 2012, compared with 3.4% in 2011. Meanwhile, consumer prices increased 4.7% year-on-year in the first six months of 2012, after a 5.3% increase in 2011. Price pressures on both external and domestic fronts are easing given the difficult external economic environment and the deceleration of import prices. The government forecasts inflation to be 3.7% for 2012.

Click to read the rest of the article in HKTDC.