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Government: Limited democracy Area: 1,092 sq km Population: 7,089,705 (July 2010 est.) Major Language: Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese dialects, English       MR AGENCIES:   » MrWeb entries for agencies working in Hong Kong / China » web sites of firms based in HK.     Hong Kong is country no. 6 » Soon: View next country - The Philippines » View previous country - Taiwan » Introduction to MrWeb country home pages
		Views from Hong Kong: Views from researchers based in the country. Nicole Hessing - Matthew Carr - Heather Payne - Christine Chester Nicole Hessing, Co-Founder & Director, Radar Global Known for its neon-lit skyscrapers, mirrored office towers and being densely populated, to me - being the co-founder of a truly independent boutique market research start up - Hong Kong is a city of opportunities. With its distinctive blend of East meets West Hong Kong provides easy access to different cultures and nationalities, which for Radar Global is key. Complemented by a low tax environment and supportive government policies to stimulate and protect new businesses make it relatively easy and attractive to establish a company. Although highly competitive, with a good and innovative business concept there are still plenty of niche opportunities across different industries to claim, develop and capitalize on. Its sophisticated infrastructure, several innovative policies focusing on the development of IT, a hardworking, adaptable and well-educated workforce plus an entrepreneurial flair make Hong Kong's service industry a force to be reckoned with in the Asia Pacific Region. Apart from being a great city to jumpstart your career or to establish your own company, Hong Kong is the epitome of work hard play hard. Although it's fast moving city, with beautiful beaches, great hiking, happening nightlife and top notch restaurants, it's a city where you can find your own pace. Matthew Carr, Managing Director APAC, Illuminas Global The last time I wrote one of these articles we were just entering the business end of the GFC. Two years on and Hong Kong’s energy and pragmatism are undimmed - as illustrated by economic data. Numbers of unemployed are now back down to where they were at the end of 2008. Consumer spending fell off a cliff before rebounding very strongly to where it is now with many discretionary purchases simply being delayed…you just can’t stop Hong Kong shoppers. The economy is also boosted by the large numbers of tourists from the Mainland and other buoyant Asian economies. What they see when they get here has changed too – the ICC (International Commerce Centre) topped out in 2010 at 118 floors and the striking Stonecutters Bridge was opened to traffic at the end of 2009. The pace of change is not letting up. Massive infrastructure projects (such as the 50 km series of bridges/tunnels which will link Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau) have been started in the last two years. The development of the Pearl River Delta (a 12 year plan) is likely to see Hong Kong cement its unique role in the transfer of ideas, capital and business between China and its global trading partners. In the face of all this change you can, after a hard day at work driving the global economy, sit on a creaking plastic chair under a slimy tarpaulin and indulge in what the nearest open air food stall (dai pai dong) has to offer (recommended for offal fans). These shabby stalls and the surrounding glass and steel towers exemplify the contrasts which, in our humble view, are central to Hong Kong’s identity. Constant change and contrast - it’s a researcher’s dream. Heather Payne, Regional Director TNS The most noticeable thing about living and working in Hong Kong is its energy. The city is electric and this energy is in the landscape and the optimistic, hardworking population. There are only 7 million people in Hong Kong, and these people are very driven to succeed. Success is measured in money.Money is at the centre of much of Hong Kong and thus everyone ( including clients) drive a hard bargain. Hong Kong is used to the volatility of a low tax free economy. Every day is a day of opportunity which means things move fast. If you don’t move fast you will be left behind and this is the way Hong Kong does business in research and in all sectors. The city's economy is driven by services so much of the research focus is on services. There are many regional head quarters in Hong Kong driving their Asia strategy from our shores. So working in research in Hong Kong also means working in China, India, South East Asia and many other countries. People in Hong Kong are experienced at working across cultures and researchers in Hong Kong get to know and understand people from many cultures - this makes working in research in Hong Kong fascinating. And last but not least Hong Kong people like to play. They are optimistic fun loving people who love to eat (don't ever call the office at lunchtime), shop, sing and BBQ. The streets of Hong Kong are full of people out enjoying themselves long after the office lights are switched off. Christine Chester, NGC Networks Asia, llc (National Geographic and Fox Channels) I am working for Newscorp in Hong Kong, in a regional role. Hong Kong is the Head Office for National Geographic Channel, and several other channels run by FOX. Asia is a huge continent and our TV channels are widely distributed in most countries there, so we deal with many different data sources and systems from a wide variety of research suppliers. Just working out our distribution numbers is a huge task. It is interesting to see the differences between all the peoplemeter panels in all the regions, but not so much fun trying to put them all together and work out how many people in Asia, or even the the world, saw a particular programme, or how many people were reached by a global advertising campaign. Systems are not so sophisticated out here, mainly because the research companies running the meter panels have had a monopoly on supplying their own systems for many years. It is only in the past year or so, that we have been able to choose whose software we can have, but now we have to wait until the economy picks up before we can invest in any new technology. China, our neighbour, is not such a large market for us, as we are a foreign TV channel, so we cannot broadcast in China. We are allowed to show some of our programmes for one hour a day on other channels though. China is different from other large countries like the USA and India, in that each province has a completely different set of channels. National TV as such is quite limited. This means that to track our programme performance in China, we have to monitor it on 25 different peoplemeter panels, as there is a separate panel for each province - these 25 panels are actually far less than half the number of panels that CSM monitor in China. They do an amazing job - I am sure that this must be one of the most sophisticated peoplemeter panels in the world, covering millions of viewers. Hong Kong is a great city to work in, and a great place to be centred to get absorbed in the Asia region as a whole, each of its countries having unique and fascinating cultures. We are lucky to be able to attend events at the Royal Geographic Society, as speakers often pop through and lecture us about their adventures in the region, all illustrated by beautiful photos.