Report on Hong Kong's Business Environment

The Hong Kong Government released the Report on Hong Kong's Business Environment which states that the city is a place with unique advantages and unlimited opportunities.

The report has three chapters:

1/ first of which elaborates on how black-clad violence and US strategy of suppressing China brought enormous negative impact on Hong Kong's economy and business environment.

2/ The second one outlines how the formulation and implementation of the National Security Law and the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" have effectively restored social stability and safeguarded the city's business environment.

3/ The third reveals that new Hong Kong back on track has outstanding advantages in its business environment with unlimited room for future development.

The report noted that since the implementation of the National Security Law, Hong Kong's financial market has remained stable. By the end of June this year, total deposits in the banking system amounted to over $15 trillion, up by almost 8% over last June. Hong Kong's foreign exchange reserves also increased by 10.5% to $3.8 trillion.

In the year following the enactment of the National Security Law, funds raised through initial public offerings in Hong Kong exceeded $500 billion, an increase of more than 50% compared to the 12 months before the enactment. As at the end of 2020, the assets under management of the city's asset and wealth management business grew by 21% year-on-year to nearly $35 trillion, about one-third of which was contributed by net fund inflows.

The report also quoted the latest international rankings of Hong Kong concerning economic freedom and competitiveness which have all along been well recognised by international institutions. Additionally, Hong Kong has been at the forefront of international rankings related to the rule of law and judicial independence since its return to the motherland.

With the unique positioning provided by the China National 14th Five-Year Plan and the unlimited opportunities brought about by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, Hong Kong will be given new impetus for economic development.

Japan-listed company Valuence expands in Hong Kong with a new sustainability initiative

Valuence International Limited, the Hong Kong subsidiary which acts as the international headquarters of the Japan-listed company #ValuenceHoldingsInc that mainly operates luxury goods purchasing business, opened its third NANBOYA location in Kwun Tong today (30 August 2021), and will launch a new sustainability exhibition in partnership with MAGO Gallery of Japan on 2 September.

With the group’s name Valuence a combination of ‘value’, ‘experience’ and ‘intelligence’, the company endeavours to offer a new value and experience to its customers with its long-cultivated knowledge and wisdom. The group is also committed to sustainability to create shared value with customers and partners, to make the world a better place to live in.

Valuence group first landed in Hong Kong in 2015 by launching its B2B pre-owned diamond auction business which has been tremendously successful given Hong Kong’s status as an international jewellery trading hub. The group subsequently brought its luxury goods purchase business NANBOYA to Hong Kong by opening their first location in Tsim Sha Tsui in July 2019 and NANBOYA Central in December 2020. With the good reception of the two locations, the group is opening in Kwun Tong to capture the market opportunities in Kowloon East.

Managing Director of Valuence International Limited, Mr Susumu Muguruma, said “Although the second location opened in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, there were much more customers than we expected. We learned the importance of being close to the community so that people can stop by on the way home and keep visiting us on weekly basis. Therefore, we searched for such premises and decided to open in Kwun Tong where many of our valued customers live. As it is also a business district with creative hot spots and is expected to be one of the busiest districts in the near future, we believe the location is ideal.”

Apart from the opening of the third location, the group will collaborate with MAGO Gallery of Japan to showcase the importance of sustainability to the well-being of people and the earth. MAGO Gallery is founded by artist Mr Mago Nagasaka in Japan, who upon seeing the impact of electronic waste on the lives in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, adds value to electronic waste by creating arts out of it, to share about the issue of over-production and waste creation on earth. Part of the sales proceeds are used to fund supplies and improvement projects in Ghana.

It is the first collaboration of the two companies to bring an exhibition to Hong Kong and the gallery will expand worldwide via the group’s subsidiaries. The first exhibition will take place at the Valuence office in Tsim Sha Tsui, with similar collaborations to take place in other cities.

Valuence will collaborate with MAGO Gallery to realise the vision of "sustainable capitalism", in which sustainable economic growth can be achieved and values can be shared with local people, with "culture", "economy" and "social contribution" being key pillars of the project.

Mr Muguruma said “We collaborate with MAGO Gallery as we also believe in sustainable capitalism. We have subsidiaries in 14 countries and are planning to actively expand our footprint, and we think that our expansion can support his global project. We will collaborate by organising exhibitions in Hong Kong, Paris, New York and Los Angeles. We decided to start our collaboration in Hong Kong, as this is where our global headquarters is located.”

For photos, please visit: www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157719735185171

Boosting eCommerce Business with Powerful Visual Content

Straub Collaborative provides a bridge between retail clients and online customers with professional images that capture the essence of a brand.

The old adage that a picture tells a thousand words has never rang more true than in this era of endless information. As commerce moves online, striking images to evoke a response become increasingly important for brands. Straub Collaborative understands the importance of visuals. Its team of photographers, stylists, project managers and developers work together to craft more than 100,000 images every quarter.

Go-To market faster in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong office was a natural extension for Straub as many of its apparel and footwear clients’ samples are produced in the region. “We believed that we could capture the sample imagery faster due to the proximity to manufacturing facilities. In turn, we can enable speed to market – a race to list that hot selling item online can really impact revenue generation.” explained Jenmon Jenkins, Straub Collaborative’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific. “During the pandemic, we were able to move projects between our American and Hong Kong studios to accommodate the production needs of our clients and when logistics were challenged. Boston sent projects to Hong Kong as the studio was in locked down. One of the advantages of our different studios is that we proudly work across time zones: when Hong Kong went home for the day, the American offices picked up where we left off for post-production.”

Jenkins feels that a strong image is the driver behind successful eCommerce businesses, as it forms the connection between a brand and a customer. “Unlike a physical store where you may have the best sales staff to connect and interact with you, eCommerce needs to elicit a meaningful response—whether it’s clicked to buy, lead you to further research on social media or share with a friend,” she elaborated. “The imagery needs to tell the story of the brand, and the product needs to be convincing. The art of photography fulfills a true need, and I see eCommerce continuing to play a huge role on retail’s evolution. Rather than traditional retail, there will be omni-channels where online, offline and social selling will become more blurred.”

Seizing opportunities during the pandemic

According to Jenkins, one major difference between clients in Asia and the US is that APAC’s pricing is more competitive than the US, and with shorter, frequently ad-hoc planning cycles for producing eCommerce assets. Some global brands tend to only use video for more premium products while in Asia, particularly in China, consumers expect that every product will come with a video and a lot more assets to showcase every single product. “The year 2020 gave us the opportunity to forge strong collaborations to resolve lockdown challenges and seize growth,” Jenkins noted. “We expanded to New York City and, looking ahead, we have exciting plans for Mainland China and Southeast Asia in progress with local partners.”

Although she revealed that high-level experienced stylists were difficult to find initially, the rise of eCommerce has resulted in more qualified candidates. “Talents are also attracted by the idea of training and perfecting their craft in the US for on-boarding and training,” Jenkins said. “Hong Kong also offers access to a diverse model pool, quality of talent and ease of operation. It is compact with a diverse landscape. It is the ultimate city for work life balance, a fantastic place to network and a great base to expand into the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia.”

Source: InvestHK 01.09.2021