Beating SARS - Hong Kong's Recovery in 2004

Hong Kong is a proud city. With a rich culture and bustling business center, the area has become one of the world’s preeminent spots for both tourists and business visitors.

That, however, changed a little over a year ago when an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, better known as SARS, hit Hong Kong and left its people fearful of their own city, donning medical masks for protection. It also deterred many of those looking to relocate, both personally and professionally, from making Hong Kong their destination of choice.

In fact, the number of passenger traffic moving into and out of Hong Kong was 153 million, a decrease of nearly six percent as compared to the 162.2 million from the year before. The number of visitors traveling to Hong Kong also took a hit last year, dropping over six percent from 2002.

But a strong-willed nation like China and vibrant city like Hong Kong left little doubt that a quick turnaround was coming, as evidenced by a significant decrease in emigration numbers. With only 9,600 people choosing to leave the city, this marked a nearly 90% decrease in emigrants over the last 10 years.

Furthermore, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department concluded that the countries population will rise by more than a million and half people over the next 30 years, from the 6.8 million that currently live here to 8.38 million in 2033. Though spread out over 30 years, these numbers clearly indicate little reluctance for people to relocate and remain in Hong Kong.

So what do all these numbers mean?

“Corporations are beginning to hire staff again after a temporary slow down caused by the SARS crisis in 2003,” explained Billy Wong, Managing Director of the Greater China region for Crown Relocation, a global mobility services company based out of Hong Kong. “More employers are making Hong Kong their regional headquarters where work force around Asia is being drawn to.”

Wong based this statement on first-hand knowledge, citing Crown’s inbound shipments into Hong Kong as being up 73% in the first five months of 2004 as compared to last year.

A closer look at the numbers reveals an across-the-board surge from all countries, topped by the number of relocations from Singapore and Shanghai. Even those from the United States are making their way back into Hong Kong with relocations up 64% in the first five months against the same period in 2003.

This complete turnaround shows the difference one year can make. After Hong Kong was ruled SARS-free in June of last year, the city has slowly recovered to the point where it can return to being known as one of the world’s business leaders rather than a member of the destination blacklist.

“Hong Kong, with its dense population and fluid borders with China, had one of the hardest outbreaks to control,” Dr. David Heymann, World Health Organization (WHO) chief of communicable diseases stated. “This success (in controlling the spread) means that the whole world can now feel safer from the SARS threat.”

The WHO has practiced what it preached in late April of this year when another outbreak of SARS was detected in China. The nine reported cases, all in connection with two graduate students working at the National Institute of Virology in Beijing, were contained by mid-May. Once no more cases were reported over the next two weeks, the country was given a clean bill of health in early June.

Through all of the turmoil over the last year, Hong Kong has remained a haven for the expat community. A variety of countries, including Australia, India and France to name a few, have strong contingents of their people residing in the city. However, the United States continues to have the highest total of its citizens living abroad in Hong Kong with 50,000 Americans dwelling here.

That number is magnified by the number of businesses that continue to thrive. Despite last year’s economic disaster with losses nearing US$2 billion, over 1000 American firms continue to operate in Hong Kong while U.S. banks total assets in the city were over US$71 billion in 2003.

The same can be said for other countries with business operations in Hong Kong. Although on a smaller scale, countries like Japan and Australia are reaping the rewards of continued business in China with 2,300 and 1,000 companies, respectively.

All of the financial success from foreign countries within Hong Kong, along with the home grown businesses, have made the city a leading trade, finance and business center. This all stems from a continued policy of free enterprise and trade, an industrious work-force, a well-developed infrastructure and excellent telecommunications.

As the influx of expatriates continues to develop and financial stability and economic growth returns to the region, the SARS crisis, though always a concern for a city that was hit so hard, can become a distant memory.

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