After a hiatus from the blog, I am happy to write about my recent 3 1/2 weeks to Hong Kong. It was a pleasant and fruitful trip - I not only met many family members and old friends, but also caught up with personal friends and old friends from the broker and investment community.
Hong Kong is as usual full of energy, convenience, variety and opportunities. No one would disagree that much of its dynamism is because of its close relationship with and dependence on China. There are many reasons for China-related fund flows into Hong Kong.
About 2 1/2 million mainland Chinese tourists visit Hong Kong per month (HK has a population of 7 million); and this number is expected to increase about 15%-20% this year. Hong Kong is the favorite place for the mainlanders to shop for LV bags, watches, apartments and even milk powder. Mainland Chinese buyers are particularly hot on Hong Kong apartments apparently because many apartments have harbour view (a luxury item in China), the amenities in Hong Kong are better than those of mainland, Hong Kong is still a China city and so is close to home, and many apartments can be found close to the airport (for example West Kowloon).
