Rise of the Virtual Influencer

Striking a Healthy Balance

Colliers Flash Report | Revisiting the Residential Market

A Great Place to do Business

Southeast Asia: E-commerce Powerhouse

31/10/2019: OFX

With its increased connectivity and greater support for innovation, Southeast Asia is set to become the rising e-commerce star of 2019. With the world’s third largest population accessing digital and smartphone technologies at an unprecedented rate, it is no wonder that businesses and governments alike are noticing that the conditions for growth in the retail market – currently worth about US$590 billion – and by extension, the e-commerce ecosystem, are favourable. In the latest issue of our "Britain in Hong Kong" magazine, Felice Tobin, Partnerships Manager, OFX, shared his views on how the region becomes more popular for start-up and e-commerce expansion. Multiple countries in Southeast Asia are now becoming attractive alternatives for both international supply chain bases and local start-up hubs, as companies are diverting investment away from China due to rising labour costs and tariffs.

Click here to read more. 

Addressing the Reality of Living Longer

24/10/2019: Aviva Investors

Life expectancy is increasing and birth rates are falling, resulting in more savers than spenders. Planning for retirement and building assets for the future become a crucial and pressing task. In the latest issue of our "Britain in Hong Kong" magazine, Richard Herberth, CEO, Asia Pacific at Aviva Investors, shared his views on how to make the most of retirement in the future. A holistic view of assets and liabilities, better engagement through technology, and simpler investment choices with clear, understandable outcomes are key to empowering life after retirement, and taking action early will make it possible to transition between life stages more comfortably and set the foundation for the long term.

Click here to read more. 

Finding the Right Talent

10/10/2019: KPMG

The quest to find the right talent never ceases in Hong Kong, a city whose dynamic business landscape requires companies to be highly attuned to the very latest developments to succeed. With technology driving innovation in Hong Kong and a vibrant start-up ecosystem swiftly emerging, employers’ well-placed efforts are vital for the city to stay competitive amid global economic uncertainty.

In the latest issue of our "Britain in Hong Kong" magazine, Felix Lee, Head of Executive Search and Recruitment Services, and Alice Yip, Head of Consumer and Industrial Markets in Hong Kong, KPMG, shared the findings of the company's recent research, detailing components of the search for talent, ranging from executive recruitment and salary outlook, to the start-up landscape and workforce challenges in the retail industry. It revealed the changing landscape of Hong Kong’s recruitment sector, and uncovered what workers really want from their employers.

Click here to read more. 

Long Road to Equality

04/10/2019: Allen & Overy

A series of legal challenges regarding the rights of same-sex couples in Hong Kong has placed the issue firmly at the top of the equal opportunities agenda. But a new report by Allen & Overy outlines continued differential treatment in areas of Hong Kong law and government policy.

In the latest issue of our "Britain in Hong Kong" magazine, Matt Bower, Partner of Allen & Overy, introduced the findings of Allen & Overy’s report “The Recognition and Treatment of Relationships under Hong Kong Law”, commissioned by Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Commission. The report identifies over 100 instances of differential treatment according to relationship status across 21 separate areas of Hong Kong law and government policy. The report aims to allow local stakeholder groups and other institutions to engage in discussions about whether particular areas of the law may benefit from reform and, if so, how such reforms may be pursued.

Click here to read more. 

Greater Bay Area: A 2030 Outlook

03/01/2019:Colliers & RICS

Colliers has partnered with RICS, a leading global professional body in the development and management of the built environment, to co-author a detailed report on the Greater Bay Area (GBA), titled ‘Greater Bay Area: A 2030 Outlook’. Our joint research looks at future opportunities in the GBA from a real estate supply and demand perspective, layered with consideration of how international operational standards will be adopted throughout the growing workforce and other related developments over the next decade.

Click here to read more. 

Enjoy the Moment

 26/09/2019: KaChick

Today more people are travelling than ever before. Instagramming our travel photos is a must these days and travel photography is a growing market. On-demand travel photography platform Shoot My Travel has attracted US$1.1 million this year, while Indonesian SweetEscape has raised US$6 million in its series-A round.

In the latest issue of our "Britain in Hong Kong" magazine, local travel tech start-up KaChick shared its experiences in offering customized travel photography services that allow travellers to enjoy their holiday in front of the cameras. 

Click here to read more. 

Innovation: The New Normal

19/09/2019: United Outcomes

With the speed of change that comes with progression and innovation, companies need to inject agility into all areas of their organisations. It is no longer enough to invest in a website or app and keep the rest of your business operations the same. Customers will critically evaluate every detail of the whole end-to-end experience when purchasing a product or using a service. It also requires companies to respond faster to the ever-changing requirements as their consumers have become accustomed to the speed of digital.

In the latest issue of our "Britain in Hong Kong" magazine, Karlijn Deforche, Manager, United Outcomes shares her insight on how combining business agility with customer experience improvements will keep companies relevant in this digital age.

Click here to read more.

Sustainability in Corporate Decision Making

12/09/2019: St. Jame's Place Wealth Management

Companies are under increasing pressure to respond to growing investor demands for Environmental, Social and Governance reporting. New initiatives are now in place to assist organisations in stepping up on sustainability.

Click here to read the full article.

The Race for Virtual Banking

05/09/2019: Origin X Capital

While Europe and the US have taken starkly different approaches to the introduction of virtual banking, Hong Kong is in prime position to hit the ground running.

Mobile technologies and a renewed interest in alternative assets like digital currencies are permeating the public eye, creating a new class of consumer demands. Modern consumers now demand more personalised, immediate payment or banking solutions.

In the latest issue of our "Britain in Hong Kong" magazine, Sandra Wu, Founding Partner & Group General Counsel, Origin X Capital shares her insight on the race for virtual banking.

Click here to read more.

Comfortable in Your Own Skin

29/08/2019: Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital

Non-melanoma skin cancer is the seventh most common cancer in Hong Kong, but many don’t even consider getting regular check-ups, let alone self-examining.

We all know that the ultraviolet (UV) radiation in sunlight is a key factor of skin cancer, and that we should wear sunscreen and a hat when we go out on sunny days. But did you know that eye colour can be part of your risk factor, or that skin cancer doesn’t always require aggressive surgery or chemotherapy? Do you know what your odds of getting skin cancer really are, and what to watch out for? 

Dr Steven Loo King Fan, Honorary Consultant in Dermatology & Venereology, Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital, gave advice to minimize our risk of skin cancer in the latest edition of Britain in Hong Kong.

Click here to read the full article.

UK Property

22/08/2019: Bridging the Lending Gap

The real estate development financing landscape in the UK has shifted in recent years. The liquidity funding gap left by the global credit crisis has long since been filled, and there is now more variety than ever across the entire funding spectrum.

Rupert Bickmore, Director, Platinum Rise Capital Partners, shares how alternative lending offers UK property investors 10%+ returns despite Brexit uncertainty, in the latest edition of British in Hong Kong magazine.

Check out this link to understand how you can seize this rare opportunity.

Minding the Retail Gap

19/08/2019: KMPG

KPMG China and the Hong Kong Retail Management Association (HKRMA) commissioned YouGov to conduct a survey of retail organisations in the city earlier this year to gather views on the major challenges the industry faces.

The 281 respondents included companies dealing in fashion and accessories, health and beauty products, department stores, drug stores, electronic and electrical appliances, supermarkets, watches and jewellery, cosmetics and other areas.

Click here to read the full report. 

Culture and Trust in a Complex and Disruptive World

15/08/2019: Workplace Culture

Disconnected Risk Culture (DRC) is the single greatest threat to organisations over the next five years.

In the latest edition of our “British in Hong Kong Magazine”, Alan Hilburg, President and CEO, Hilburg Associates, discusses how failing to culturally connect multi-generational and multi-cultural workforces has created a global crisis of distrust within organisations – and historic levels of risk.

Click here to read the full article.

The Rise of Young International Professionals 

15/08/2019: HSBC Expat

Young professionals reap the biggest rewards when they move abroad

• 18 to 34 year olds see the biggest pay increase of any age group when relocating for work
• 47 per cent of 18 to 34 year olds move to progress their career 
• 71 per cent have learnt new skills since moving abroad
  

Hot Property

08/08/2019: Commercial Real Estate

The growth prospects arising from the ambitious Greater Bay Area initiative have seen increasing foreign capital flow into the commercial property markets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen since its announcement in early 2017.

Reed Hatcher, Director and Head of Research, Hong Kong, Cushman & Wakefield, discusses the rising tide of real estate investment after the Greater Bay Area Initiative.

Click here to read the full article.

Cross-Border Co-operation in Employment Judgements

01/08/2019: Employment Law between Mainland and HK

A new reciprocal arrangement between Hong Kong and mainland China means final effective judgments in some employment matters can be recognised and enforced in both areas. Johnny Choi and Helen Colquhoun, Partners of DLA Piper, discusses the implication of the latest legal development and what this means for employers.

Click here to read the full article.

Colliers Mid-Year Market Outlook 2019

24/07/2019: Colliers

Colliers released their Hong Kong Mid-Year Market Outlook 2019 to evaluate Hong Kong’s property market in the first half of 2019. The report also explores the factors affecting the Office, Industrial, Retail and Residential sectors as well as the overall real estate investment landscape to forecast performance over the next six months. 

Please find the presentation deck here as well as the press release of the mid-year market outlook. You may also check out their Hong Kong 2019 Q2 Property Market Reports here to find out what happened in each of the key sectors during Q2 2019.

Breaking the Stigma

Entre the Workforce

Steve Palfrey, Executive Director, Project Management, Creater China, CBRE provides his insight in to the success in building a better workplace in the latest edition of the Chambers magazine. Essentially this lies in a great vision and tremendous organisational transformation effort. When done well, it can be a highly rewarding one that will position you well for the next chapter of your business journey.

Click here to read more.

Strength in Diversity

In this issue of Britain in Hong Kong, Editor Sarah Graham looks at Hong Kong's slow but steady progression towards openness and acceptance of LGBT rights, and what businesses can do to move the needle. Click here to read more.

Agile or Irrelevant

KPMG China recently launched its “2019 China CEO Outlook”. This report summarises the China findings from a global survey of 1,300 CEOs – including 125 from companies headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong (China CEOs) – across a wide range of industries, providing insights into investment priorities, growth strategies, and key concerns.

The survey findings suggest that despite the rapidly changing business environment as a result of both domestic and external developments, China CEOs are confident in the resilience of their companies, and in their ability to innovate, disrupt and adapt. They are also proactively thinking about investing in new technologies to be ahead of the competition; and are placing increasing importance to partnering in order to achieve their growth objectives.

Click here to read the full report.

Selecting the Right School

28/06/2019: Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong

With so much choice in Hong Kong, choosing the right school for your child can be a daunting prospect. Shrewsbury International School offers a personalised selection process.

Click here to read the full article.

A Future Immigration System

GBA: A Blueprint for Growth

Click here to read the full article.

Flying into the Future

Celebrating 100 Years in the Skies

Colliers Quarterly Reports: Q1 2019

• Office
• Industrial
• Retail
• Residential

The Greater Bay Area: An Opportunity Not to Be Missed

23/05/2019

Hong Kong has a key role to play in the success of the Greater Bay Area, and efforts must be made to ensure it achieves smooth integration into the economic region.

Click here to read more.

Soft Skills, Hard Results

16/05/2019: Chatteris Educational Foundation

The Chatteris Educational Foundation is offering life-wide learning opportunities to allow less privileged students in Hong Kong to overcome the equality gap.

Click here to read the full article.

Creating the Future Workforce

25/04/2019

Creativity has always been off limits when it comes to the type of functions robots might master in the future. Not so anymore – and it’s down to educators to find the right balance that will prepare students for jobs that are yet to be invented.

Click here to read the full article.

Matters of the Heart

18/04/2019: Gleneagles

Coronary heart disease is on the rise among younger patients. The radial approach, which minimises injury and involves a short hospital stay, is now the preferred treatment.

Click here to read the full article by Dr. Tse Tak Sun, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Honorary Consultant in Cardiology, Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital

Hong Kong: The Place to Be

11/04/2019: InvestHK

Recent surveys of international businesses in Hong Kong indicate that the city is more of a magnet than ever for multinationals and start-ups as new regional economic development strategies take shape.

Stephen Phillips, Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong talks about Hong Kong's growth, with the Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area development being key economic development strategies contributing to this.

Click here to read the full article. 

Colliers Insights | Hong Kong's Expanding Railway Links with the GBA

14/03/2019: Colliers

When the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link opened in 2018, Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Station became the city’s first link to China’s high-speed railway system, with great implications for Hong Kong and its role within the GBA. In Colliers latest Insights publication, they explore how future planned rail links between Hong Kong and other major cities in the GBA, as well as future extensions of the China Railways High-Speed system, will have some extraordinary, and in some cases, unanticipated knock-on effects impacting both Hong Kong’s metro and railway systems and its larger urban development.
 
To read the full report and gain new strategic insights click here.

Sainsbury’s/Asda and the CMA - A statement of intent pre-Brexit

13/03/2019: Eversheds Sutherland

On 21 and 20 February 2019 respectively the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its Provisional Findings and a Notice of Possible Remedies (Notice) in its phase 2 review of the anticipated merger between J Sainsbury PLC and Asda Group Ltd. The CMA has provisionally found that the anticipated merger raises “extensive competition concerns” and that even significant divestments may not be effective at addressing these issues. Specifically, the UK regulator has found that the proposed merger could:

• increase prices for in-store and online supply of groceries and at the parties’ petrol filling stations;
• lead to a poorer shopping experience; and
• reduce the range and quality of products on offer

Although the CMA’s findings are only provisional at this stage, they are a significant statement of intent by the CMA. The Provisional Findings and Notice are not only reported to possibly jeopardise the Sainsbury’s Asda transaction but also potentially have repercussions for the CMA’s future approach to retail and consumer deals.

Eversheds Sutherland has prepared a briefing that considers some of the key consequences of the CMA’s Provisional Findings both for future deals and also for the CMA as it seeks to boost its global profile prior to Brexit.

Click here to read the full briefing

Tokenising Real Estate

21/02/2019: Colliers

The recent introduction of security tokens means retail investors will have direct access to different commercial real estate asset types.

Philip Pang, Associate Director at Colliers International says "the idea is to solve some of the key problems investors and property developers face when investing in commercial real estate, primarily the limited access, the fees imposed by third parties, and the lack of transparency and liquidity."

Click here to read the full article

Forward Thinking for Tomorrow’s World

15/02/2019: Stamford American School

The fast pace of change in the world of technology is disrupting business models. At Stamford American School, the emphasis is on instilling critical thinking into the minds of pupils.

Karrie Dietz, Head of School at Stamford American School in Hong Kong talks about how they are equipping their students not only with skills in STEM, but also a mindset for innovation.

Click here to read the full article

The Workspace of the Future

08/02/2019: The Executive Centre

Flexible space is generating plenty of conversation about new ways of working, but demographic, cultural, and corporate evolutions are the real agents of change at work.

Todd Liipfert, Senior Development Director of Expansion at The Executive Centre talks about what your future "office" will look like.

Click here to read the full article

From Trade War to Cold War?

30/01/2019: Steve Vickers Associates

While the US-China trade war truce is good news for exporters, companies must act now to implement contingency plans should relations sour once again.

Kit Dawnay, Country Head, Singapore Director of Research at SVA Group looks at how businesses should respond in order to protect themselves from geopolitical risks.

Click here to read the full article

Design the Future, Create Tomorrow

24/01/2019: Department for International Trade, Hong Kong

Creativity and design are increasingly influencing the way we live, work, and play.

Paul McComb, Director of General Trade & Investment at the UK's Department for International Trade (DIT), talks about how the Great British Design campaign is helping businesses evaluate how they can build a successful creative economy.

Click here to read the full article

Parliament Voted! What’s Next for Brexit?

23/01/2019: Eversheds Sutherland

The Chamber held a breakfast briefing in partnership with Eversheds Sutherland. Ros Kellaway and Adam Ferguson provided a detailed picture of the implications of Parliament’s rejection of Mrs May’s proposed package; the prospects for the upcoming parliamentary votes, the remaining options for Brexit arrangements, and the practical implications for Hong Kong businesses and investors with interests in the UK.

Key concerns surrounding the deal include:

• No unilateral exit from the Irish backstop
• Remaining in or leaving the Customs Union
• Continued indirect EU Court of Justice jurisdiction and EU’s continued ability to impose rules on UK
• UK’s ability to enter into free trade agreements
• Paying €39bn but no guarantee of a trade deal

There are a number of possible outcomes, such as leaving without a deal, amending the withdrawal agreement, MP’s implementing a new motion for a second referendum, “Norway for Now”, Canada Plus, or delaying or revoking Article 50.

But as things stand, the default position is for the UK to leave the EU on 29th March 2019 with no deal. As such, one thing that is clear from this morning’s discussion is that businesses should start their contingency planning for a hard Brexit, if they haven’t already.

Click here to download the presentation

The Truth About Fads and Quick Fixes

17/01/2019: Pinnacle Performance

A rise in obesity has been mirrored by an increase in quick-fix diet and fitness plans. But nothing works better than good, old-fashioned healthy eating and regular exercise. 

We go 'back to the basics' with Matt Jacob, Director at Pinnacle Performance in Hong Kong, as he shares his advice on not only how to become healthy, but to ensure you can be maintain it easily and effectively in the long term.

Click here to read the full article

SPARK: The Science and Art of Creativity

10/01/2019: British Council

A new British Council Festival of Ideas aims to spark the creativity of our young people of today, our innovators and leaders of tomorrow.

SPARK is a place for debate, inspiration and visionary thinking. A Festival of Ideas, it takes place at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong’s new Centre for Heritage and Arts, from 18-20 January. With more than 30 events over three days and 50 creative and education partners from the UK and Hong Kong, SPARK will open eyes and ears with interactive experiences, provocative performances, stimulating talks, installations, exhibitions and other innovative happenings.

Click here to read the full article

Me, My Life, My Wallet - What’s really driving consumers’ decisions?

07/01/2019: KPMG

For organisations faced with an already demanding consumer with rising expectations, KPMG’s global research provides a fresh approach to help understand the complex, underlying and interconnected drivers of human decision-making.

Click here to read the full article

EU prepares for a “managed” no deal Brexit

03/01/2019: Eversheds Sutherland

On 19 December 2018, the European Commission (“Commission”) announced that it started implementing its “no deal” contingency action plan, as a result of the uncertainty about whether the UK will approve the Withdrawal Agreement next month. It published a new package of 14 measures to prepare for a “managed” no deal Brexit, which it says are “absolutely necessary to protect the vital interests of the EU and where preparedness measures on their own are not sufficient”.  The measures are limited to specific areas including financial services, air transport, customs and climate policy, amongst others, and are to be time-limited.

Click here to read the full report

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