HK opportunities thanks to A$ woes - low value of Australian dollar turns Hong Kong businesses towards Australian products and services - Brief Article

Business Asia, July, 2001

AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES should take advantage of our currency woes to enter the highly competitive Hong Kong market, Austrade's senior trade commissioner in Hong Kong Christopher Rees says.

Rees said the low value of the Australian dollar means Hong Kong businesses are turning towards Australian products and services as a cheaper alternative that has the same high quality as US or European competitors.

"Astute people here are realising that Australia has some of the levels of quality, standards, hygiene and education to the US and Europe, but at a much reduced price," Rees said.

"What it's done is that while making the Australian product more affordable, it's given Hong Kong people the excuse to start examining Australian products for the first time, and most like what they see. It's a unique window for us to use the price differential to get products and brands established in the market. If and when the currency window closes, hopefully we've established ourselves to the point that there's sustainable demand for our products.

"We've got lots of competitors, but we have lots of advantages at the moment. So we really need to take advantage of this opportunity -- it's a window that's going to slam on us if we don't act quickly."

Despite the city's downturn in 2001, Rees says Hong Kong presents plenty of opportunities for Australian businesses.

"Hong Kong is really three markets -- it's a gateway to China, certainly. Two, it's a consumer market in its own right. There are 6.8 million people here with a per capita GDP of about US$23,000 ($44,790). That's quite high by international standards", he said.

"The third is as a showcase to greater China, in particular places like Taiwan and southern China, who enthusiastically follow any trends that emerge in Hong Kong.

Australians are already making inroads into Hong Kong. Exports rose 18 per cent last year, with particularly strong growth in areas such as fresh foods, education and elaborately transformed manufactures.

"I think Australia has a good name here. In many ways Australia is a more logical supplier to Hong Kong as a market rather than Europe or the United States by virtue of our proximity," he said.