Hong Kong still outcompetes Shanghai: study

fdpmpnjts

Hong Kong still outcompetes Shanghai: study
HONG KONG - Hong Kong's competitiveness score is still ahead that of
[color=]Shanghai
in 2005, with the gap actually widening in the last year, a research report said May 23.
The Hong Kong-Shanghai Metropolis (International City) Competitiveness study, co-conducted by the Better
[color=]Hong Kong
Foundation, the Faculty of Business Administration of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, has been released annually since 2001.
Based on the "Pyramid of Metropolis (International City) Competitiveness", which uses a 32-item structural questionnaire, the 2005 survey interviewed 248 Chief Executive Officers from local and multinational corporations in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. They were requested to give a score from one (worst) to five (best) on each of the 32 measuring items for both Hong Kong and Shanghai.
According to the survey, Hong Kong's competitiveness score is still ahead of Shanghai's in 2005 by almost one point (0.9), a consistent level observed during the past four years. Hong Kong's score increased from 3.7 in 2001 to 4.1 in 2005, representing an increase of 0.4 (or 10%), and that of Shanghai increased from 3.0 to 3.2, representing an increase of 0.2 (or 7%) for the same period.
Compared with 2004, Hong Kong gained modestly by 0.1, from 4.0 to 4.1, and on the contrary Shanghai's score dropped modestly by 0.1 from 3.3 to 3.2. Relative to 2004, Hong Kong's score for sustainable economic growth continuously improved to exceed that of Shanghai by 0.8. In 2004, the difference was only 0.5.
In 2005, the investment environment of Hong Kong was again considered its most significant competitive dimension versus Shanghai, exceeding the latter by more than one point (1.2), which has also been true for the past four years.
A widening competitiveness gap with respect to how globalized the two cities are perceived as being persisted in 2005. The difference in score was 0.8 in 2005, compared to 0.5 in 2004. Of 32 items, Hong Kong scored higher than Shanghai on 31, the sole exception being a tie score obtained for "macroeconomic structure".
Chyau Tuan, a professor of business administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the results were largely a result of a much better-improved economic environment in Hong Kong since last year.
As the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) enters into its third phase, Hong Kong enjoys more business opportunities. Such policies not only enhanced the international competitiveness of Hong Kong in general, but also strengthened further its position as a metropolis which plays a leading role in the economic development of the region.
Zuo Xuejin, Vice President of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the result of the survey was reliable though it appears a surprise to some people. "Shanghai is developing fast in hardware but lags behind in software, where [there still is] a huge gap between Shanghai and Hong Kong," he said.
During Beijing's eleventh five-year plan (2006-2010), Shanghai will readjust its industry structure as Hong Kong conducted 20 years ago, from a labor-intensive mode to a more modern service-oriented type, paying more attention to finance, shipping, communication and culture, Zuo said.
"During [this structural transformation], Shanghai should learn from Hong Kong to build up a [entrepreneurial] team [which is] flexible [with respect] to changing circumstances," he added.
Tuan believed there exists absolutely no concern regarding the marginalization of Hong Kong even though confronted with competition from Shanghai, simply because China needs multiple large metropolises considering the sheer size of the country. Both cities have natural geographical locations in south and east China, in which they can play unique and dominant roles.
(Asia Pulse/XIC)