Hong Kong is now one of the most popular destination for international business. Several factors such as its socio-political stability, strong judicial system, free-market laws and use of English as the primary business language has contributed to Hong Kong being the most favourable place to set up a business.
Several business ventures across the Hong Kong city are running successfully on the basis of its open economy, which is free from corruption. Moreover the free flow of information coupled with the rule of law has been its greatest advantage as a business-friendly city. Ernst and Young, a reputed professional services firm, along with Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) have selected Hong Kong as the city with the largest globalization for the third time in a row in its yearly report named Globalization Index 2012.
Hong Kong, which is governed under the Chinese sovereignty since 1997 has its own legal and political system that runs on principles based on the concept of “One country, two systems”. The successful implementation of this concept has provided Hong Kong with several unique advantages. It has been able to retain its core strengths that make it a favourable international business destination and also has direct access to the entire market of Mainland China.
For international business, it is a great place to set up since there are no restrictions on foreign ownership. An independent judiciary helps the government uphold the rule of law and keep it clean from corruption. Moreover, the system facilitates mobility of capital, goods, information and talent which is an important factor for a successful business venture. Organizations are provided with autonomous legislative and executive powers that ease the process of running a business in Hong Kong. Chinese and English, which covers more than half of the world’s population in terms of language used for communication, are the official languages for Hong Kong. However, for the purpose of business and contracts, English is the usual language, which provides an international appeal to Hong Kong.
The “Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2012” report has named Hong Kong as one of the least corrupt administration in the world ahead of economies like Japan, UK and the US. This has been achieved through its strong public administration and independent monitoring system, Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The Hong Kong administration has absolutely zero tolerance for bribery and influence-peddling, and the anti-corruption model has been replicated in several other economies including Australia.