HK would lag behind Shanghai: Li Ka-shing

Hong Kong needs to raise its competitiveness if it wants to avoid losing out to Shanghai, where China is setting up a free trade zone, Li Ka-shing, chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., said on Tuesday.

“Shanghai's new free-trade zone will have a bigger and quicker impact on Hong Kong than most people imagine, Li said, Hong Kong would lag behind if it did not accelerate the pace of its development.

Asked about the sale of ParknShop, one of Hong Kong’s two biggest supermarket chains, Li said it was a “commercial decision.

Commenting on the Occupy Central movement for greater democracy, Li said: "Personally I do not agree with occupying Central. It will adversely affect Hong Kong's image as a financial city and have a negative impact on the city's economy."

Meanwhile, Li Ka-shing stressed he won’t move Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa away from Hong Kong, as RTHK reported. He urged Hongkongers to unite to improve the city, and said his flagship companies would not pull their assets out of Hong Kong. "I will absolutely not move our domiciles from Hong Kong," he said. "After many years Cheung Kong and Hutchison will still be here."

However, Wang Guangya, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said on Tuesday：“Hong Kong won’t lose out even as the Chinese government supports cities including Shanghai.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said, the trade zone, which may push forward China’s goal of making Shanghai a global financial center by 2020, will help improve the country’s competitiveness.

According to South China Morning Post, Beijing plans to elevate Shanghai's role in economic reform by loosening controls on capital flows and expanding foreign investment in its free-trade zone, to officially open next week.