“Hong Kong’s regional partnerships stimulate trade and economic cooperation as exemplified by the SARs signing of key free trade and investment agreements with ASEAN in November last year”, says Dr. Riady.

Japan remains an important trade partner for Hong Kong and both enjoy internationally-acclaimed healthcare systems. Life expectancies in Japan and Hong Kong rank amongst the highest in the world. However, with ageing populations and a rising demand for healthcare services, ‘life-sciences’ have become an increasingly important area of cooperation.

Intending to become a leading Asia healthcare group, in 2017 Lippo Group acquired two Singapore-listed healthcare companies. Healthway Medical Corporation Limited manages over ninety clinics and medical centres in Singapore and OUE Lippo Healthcare Limited (formerly International Healthway Corporation Limited) which owns and manages twelve nursing homes in Japan and a hospital in China.

In January of this year, Lippo Group established a strategic partnership with ITOCHU Corporation of Japan with the intention of developing an extensive network across Asia. “With Asia’s rapidly ageing population and the growing affluence of people, demand for quality healthcare is on the rise”, says Dr. Riady.

“We are bringing our strengths to this sector in high-potential, emerging markets across the region”.

With businesses focused on real estate and infrastructure, mineral exploration, food, retail, ‘e-commerce’, telecommunications and finance and financial technology (fintech), Lippo Group is well-positioned to seize cross-industry investment opportunities.

“We see opportunities for us in the digital economy with fintech and digital payment solutions”, says Dr. Riady.

“With the recent launch of Hong Kong’s seven initiatives to bolster the island’s fintech capabilities and open up a new-era of smart banking, these create opportunities for collaboration between the fintech communities of Hong Kong and Japan. This will support innovation and development and spur business opportunities across the region”.

With a proven track record and extensive expertise, Lippo Group will continue to look for areas which present long-term, value-creation opportunities.

“The Lippo brand represents quality, high-standards, reliability and consistency; attributes which are required to build trust”, concludes Dr. Riady.

“We are constantly working to ensure our brand values are upheld and our employees understand and deliver the high-standards we expect of them. We intend to build on our reputation and track-record as we grow our businesses in line with the economic development of the region”.

https://lippogroup.com/

“The International Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong (ICCHK) continues to see international and local Hong Kong based companies come together”, says J.P. Lee, ICCHK Chairman.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) focuses on policy advocacy, rule-setting and dispute resolution to support international businesses. ICCHK was inaugurated in December 1998 as the Hong Kong representative body of the ICC.

“Japan is considered to be one of the best partners for Hong Kong as we have worked very closely together over the years”, says Lee. “We expect the relationship to flourish in the future across all key sectors of Hong Kong’s economy and in the legal services sector, ICCHK has expanded our services to support Hong Kong’s role as a key regional dispute solutions destination”.

In October this year, ICCHK will host the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition Hong Kong.

“This is the first ICC competition in Hong Kong to focus on international commercial mediation”, says Lee. “Over four days, university students in Hong Kong and across the Asia Pacific Region will be competing using their advocacy skills in a mediation setting and will be judged and guided by professional mediators under the ICC mediation rules, competing for the top place in this prestigious competition”.

www.iccwbo.org
www.icchkcbc.org
www.iccmediationcomp.com

“Our sales volume has increased as we share the philosophy behind the Citizen brand, educate customers regarding our technologies and promote the full-range of Citizen watches through over one hundred partner dealers in Hong Kong”.

Face-to-face purchases are hugely important within Hong Kong’s retail sector. While improving the ‘high-street’ customer experience, Citizen Watches (HK) recognizes the importance of online platforms and is enhancing its online promotion activities across each of its markets.

“Helping our business growth in Hong Kong, Citizen has been highly-regarded in mainland China for sixty years”, says Hosogaya. “To celebrate our 100 year milestone and to show our gratitude to our customers in the market, we are offering an extended five year warranty to customers in certain Asia regions”.

Today, Citizen Watches (HK) is responsible for all Asian markets except Japan and works in close cooperation with Citizen in mainland China. The company’s network extends as far as India and the Middle East with sales increasing in key markets such as China, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Citizen is proud to manufacture the machinery which makes Citizen Watches and has production facilities in Japan, China and Thailand.

The company’s innovations include the world’s first light-powered watch launched in 1976 (now known as the ‘Eco Drive’) and the world’s first light-powered satellite-synchronised watch, the ‘Satellite Wave’ in 2011.

Citizen fuses these technologies with beauty. The pink gold ‘Sakura’ ladies range utilizes cutting-edge plating-technology which encompasses the beauty of Japan’s famous cherry blossom.

“Wearing a watch creates a personal feeling of affection within each of us”, says Hosogaya. “Citizen will continue to deliver innovative technologies and attractive designs as we grow our business in synch with our customers’ expectations and beyond”.

www.citizen.com.hk

From Hong Kong to the rest of the world, Wah Kwong has long played an important role in the global maritime industry. Chao’s Grandfather T.Y. Chao established Wah Kwong in 1952 and in line with Japan’s post-war industrial growth, grew the company’s fleet.

Minimizing exposure to market volatility, Wah Kwong’s first ships were pre-fixed on long-term time charters, mainly to Japanese charterers.

“Our very first ‘new-builds’ were built in Japan and we still have close ties with Japanese shipyards and trading houses”, says Chao. “We have continued to strengthen our friendships in Japan and always enjoy visiting. Each Japanese city offers visitors something very special which symbolises Japan’s diversity and cultural vibrancy. We want to encourage our Japanese friends to come to Hong Kong to strengthen our business ties and our friendship”.

As the maritime industry looks to the future, environmental issues are being addressed.

“The International Maritime Organization’s ‘2020 global sulphur limit’ is of great importance”, says Chao. “While developing our industry, we need to protect the environment as we have a responsibility to the next generation. However, there are many operational issues that still have not been addressed which I am very concerned about”.

As a ‘super-connector’ located in the very heart of Asia, Hong Kong was founded on its history of trading, rule of law, financial capabilities and strong maritime industry.

“Today we see challenges and opportunities in Hong Kong and there is a determination within the business community to keep the economic momentum moving forward”, says Chao.

“Hong Kong holds a unique position in the Chinese governments ‘Belt and road initiative’ and we expect to contribute to, and benefit from, its impact in the future”.

info@wahkwong.com.hk
www.wahkwong.com.hk
www.hksoa.org
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Jones Day has unique expertise in this area and is ready to help. Last year, the firm successfully completed the Hong Kong IPO of Precision Tsugami (China) Corporation (HKSE: 1651). This was achieved through a spin-off of the entire Chinese-based operations of its parent company, renowned machine-tools manufacturer Tsugami Corporation (TYO: 6101).

As one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse law firms, Jones Day believes in responsive and dedicated client service. With over 2,500 lawyers and forty three offices on five continents, Jones Day’s ‘One Firm Worldwide’ approach gives clients seamless access to substantial legal resources.

Nearly half of the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500 and FT Global 500 consistently come to Jones Day for advice. In 2018, the firm ranked number one in the ‘Client Service A-Team’ report published by BTI Consulting Group and in the process, became the only firm to date to be awarded ‘Best of the Best’ status in consecutive years.

In North Asia, Jones Day has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei. Jones Day is passionate about its work and looks forward to assisting clients across the region.

www.jonesday.com
www.jonesday.com/hongkong/

The company’s fleet includes bulk carriers, container ships, gas/oil/ chemical tankers, ice-class ore-bulk-oil carriers, ro-ro carriers, pipe-layers, heavy-lift and LPG-floating storage vessels.

Headquartered in the global shipping hub of Hong Kong, Anglo-Eastern is well positioned to serve both regional and international maritime players, like it has done for more than forty years. Its client portfolio is founded on long-term partnerships and quality service.

“Hong Kong offers a coming together of East and West, old and new, and from here we are able to reach out to the global maritime industry to further nurture and develop our business”, says Hojgaard.

“Japan is an important shipping partner for Anglo-Eastern. Our company has a long history with Japan and over ten per cent of our ships are from Japanese clients.

“As we adapt to modern-day challenges, we intend to stay true to our guiding principles. Building trust has always been central to what we do and we are committed to working closely with our clients and strengthening our partnerships across the region”.

www.angloeastern.com
www.linkedin.com/company/anglo-eastern
www.facebook.com/angloeastern
www.twitter.com/angloeasterngrp
www.instagram.com/anglo_eastern

Our strong people-to-people bond is reflected in the large number of Hong Kong people visiting Japan, at a record breaking 2.23 million in 2017 and a further year-on-year increase of 4.0% in the first two months of 2018.

I am confident that the best is yet to come for Hong Kong and for our relationship with Japan.

How would you describe Hong Kong’s current economic landscape?

“With a projection to grow by three to four per cent in 2018, we are cautiously optimistic regarding the Hong Kong economy and the government’s proposal to reduce profit tax could also help boost overall sentiment. According to the World Bank and the IMF, China’s economy is expected to grow by around 6.5 per cent and backed by such a strong market, Hong Kong will benefit from this. Though trade tensions between China and the US pose uncertainty to the global economy, we believe that the Central government will strive to reduce the impact brought by potential trade conflicts. For Hong Kong’s property market, the demand for residential property remains high and while there is a possibility the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates, strong monetary liquidity and the fiercely competitive mortgage market in Hong Kong should make the banks less likely to follow”.

“New policies enacted by the HKSAR government, which include plans to offer affordable homes, together with an expected gradual easing of demand-supply balance of flats resulting from a projected increase in flat production in the coming few years, may impact the market. As a company, we have always focused on long-term sustainable development and as such we welcome a more healthy market on which we can further build our businesses. The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area will present another opportunity for Hong Kong and neighbouring cities. With the completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, connectivity will be vastly enhanced and further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a regional hub”.

With developments in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Asia; in what areas of your business are you seeing the most growth?

“Stable growth is being recorded across our core business segments. Last year our flagship project in mainland China, HKRI Taikoo Hui, came into full operation and our CDW Building in Hong Kong was converted to a quality commercial complex. We expect these two projects to generate stable rental revenue for the Group. Meanwhile we are also optimistic towards the residential property market in Hong Kong, Yangtze River Delta, Bangkok and Tokyo. Recently we acquired two new land lots in Jiaxing, mainland China and we are also planning a large- scale residential property project in Bangkok”.

“For our hospitality businesses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok, these popular cities attract visitors from around the world and we are confident that our hotels in these three cities can leverage on this trend. In Japan, we will continue to look for suitable opportunities”.

How important is Japan to your business and do you expect your Japanese business portfolio to increase?

“Our investment properties in Japan provide good rental income and a reasonable yield of approximately five per cent. Our key business strategies are to distribute our business equally across three geographical areas: Hong Kong, mainland China and the rest of Asia while maintaining a balanced income from our different business segments, especially property development and investment. Our business in Japan is a perfect fit into these two main strategies and we will continue to look for suitable investment opportunities in Japan as we believe our Japan business will provide stable growth”.

Where do you see the Hong Kong-Japan relationship heading in the future?

“Hong Kong and Japan have a long-term close trade and business relationship. Japan is Hong Kong’s fourth largest export market and fourth largest source of imports, while Hong Kong is the largest export destination for Japanese foodstuffs. In light of Hong Kong’s position as a regional trade centre, many Japanese companies are using Hong Kong as their regional headquarters or regional offices to oversee their business activities in other Asian economies, including mainland China. We expect the relationship between Hong Kong and Japan to grow. Overseas and Mainland companies continue to value Hong Kong as the prime location for regional operations in Asia, mainly because of its simple tax system and low tax rate, free flow of information, free port status, geographical location and corruption free government. According to the latest government statistics, twenty per cent of companies were confident and indicated that they may expand their business in Hong Kong over the next three years. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will continue to play a pivotal role in facilitating trade and business between Hong Kong and other countries, including Japan”.

What message do you have for our readers in Hong Kong, Japan and the rest of the world regarding HKRI’s continued commitment to customers and partners across the Asian region?

“HKR International Limited just celebrated its fortieth anniversary and we are glad to say we have attained a number of remarkable achievements as we turn a new page in this milestone year. We have transformed from a property developer into a conglomerate with diversified businesses across Asia. We shall continue to develop quality lifestyle projects leveraging our core competencies of innovation and creativity. We strive to build livable communities for our customers and continue to uphold our values of respecting our environment and individuals and pursuing excellence and quality in all our projects and the markets we operate in”.

“Recognizing the difference we might make, we are committed to continuously investing in the environment and our people and over the years we have laid a solid foundation for our future development. While new and changing conditions may result in challenges, we are confident that with the wealth of experience which we have accumulated, our pioneering spirit and our vision to create healthy, stylish and distinctive living experiences, the Group is well equipped to embrace these challenges and will continue to excel in our business operations”.

www.hkri.com