Doing business (HK)

Hong Kong is trying many tricks & is getting different to China. As it slows down and as it is harder & harder for the business to earn money it is logical that some local companies charge for service they have not done, but promised they will do. This pressure can be seen on a side of lawyers, on a side of business advisors and on a side of accountants. Therefore it is advisable to make meeting minutes, control what you had been charged for and also make clear what is the point of cooperation every time you sit & discuss. Do not look for big wins, do not look for black & white solutions and do not look for being great or better than local business are. Just ask for what you deserve. And keep asking for it.

Legal system in Hong Kong

Having a right to claim or being accused by others to proceed to court may be much better choice in Hong Kong or Singapore, than in other Asian countries. Main reason for that is the fact, that all proc eedings will be in English. This is a corner stone, as we might ask questions, prepare ourselves, think & be sure everybody understands.

Not being able to speak English makes the whole approach much more complicated and therefore I would suggest to try to avoid touching Asia internationally.

Second advantage would be a straight forward system, where all civil proceedings over 1 MM HKD (100k EUR) will be hold on one court - WanChai court. This makes thing even easier.

Third advantage & disadvantage would be costs. Some lawyers will ask you 300.000 HKD for support, what I consider as a huge amount of money. Local lawyers, especially ones being fluent in English and sitting in Central are expensive & will push you to fights, courts and proceedings.

The best way to start, before u pick up your lawyer would be to talk to local law association. They will be helpful by teaching you simple regulations on pricing & time & way of talking to lawyers. This is useful not only in the begging, when you will need to understand a normal HK processes, but also in time, as you might feel your lawyer is not 100% effective and even in the end, when the court finish and you are left with the outcome. In case it is a good one, you can still make sure the costs for the lawyers are reasonable, if it is a bad or so so court ruling how can you appeal & if you had been represented properly.

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Hong Kong - No.1 financial capital of the world 2012 prediction

Looking on the "South China morning post" news from 2012 I feel I had been liberally misinformed. This was a joke in 2012 with some weird feeling China will do what is proclaimed. And now it is a reason to cry, as HK became tourist center of China, as Venice is in Europe or as Las Vegas in US.

HK did loose a lot and keeps loosing despite proclamation in 2012.

Hong Kong - visit report

Establishing company in Hong Kong seems to loose all the advantage. There is no advantage foe tax purpose, as the same deal u can get in Singapore. Amount of foreigners dramatically decreased. Local people speak now more Mandarin than English. And the advisors u meet look rather hungry for new business. Business setup is old and stable, no progress. Advantage for R&D is so far from Singapore and it is obvious nobody gets it or trusts it. Cash flow to China is hard and so much limited. Standards fall down and people are more rude than used to be.

1997 in HK was 1968 for Czechoslovakia

Hong Kong - do finance

Recently I travel to HK with the strange feeling. It is turning from financial headquarter to tourist one. A new Macau you would say. I am observing the change happening. Observing prices, people and approach. I sense business is more and more hungry for a great ideas. I might be wrong. We will see this time ....

Hong Kong - banking and economy 2016-05

Hong Kong economy is visibly worse than before. Difference is seen on a street. Hong Kong island, part of HK that used to be the most luxurious part did remind me of Brazil. Streets are empty, dirty, pollution in the air, much less people, closed and anandoned shops covered by wood. On same places only few shining neons.

Banking is different. I did sense it used to be more strict. More privilege.

HKneese say, that they became 2nd type city of China! That mean that the most luxurious please in Asia is now second rank in China. And I agree.