Hong Kong reports a 36% rise in FDI and an 8% increase in new jobs, attributed to its business-friendly environment, low taxes, and common law system. Over 380 global enterprise representatives attended an InvestHK reception.
Hong Kong leader John Lee met with Kazakh President Tokayev and Deputy PM Zhumangarin to boost economic ties. Lee encouraged Kazakh businesses to leverage Hong Kong's financial hub status for access to mainland China and Asian markets.
Hong Kong's Templewater is targeting real estate, energy, and healthcare in Central Asia, aiming to connect Middle Eastern capital with the region. Chairman Cliff Zhang highlighted the need for investment diversification away from Western markets due to geopolitical volatility.
The author reflects on Hong Kong's paradoxical position in international relations: despite hosting world-class universities with internationally trained scholars and contributing to global academic debates, the city has not emerged as a major IR hub like New York or Singapore. The root cause is structural—under British colonial rule, Hong Kong developed a top-tier higher education system but never built its own foreign policy apparatus, leaving IR as an academic discipline disconnected from real-time policy decision-making.
