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The Economic Majority Print E-mail
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Written by Jonathan Magee   
Monday, 04 June 2007

More about the income gap...
The Economic Majority
Photo slideshow
Working in the Dark
A quick glance at Hong Kong's economy
Ensconced in gleaming steel and glass skyscrapers, investment bankers, financial analysts and business executives look out over Victoria Harbor. As Hong Kong moves into the 21st Century, it is remaking itself from one of the world’s most important logistics hubs into a financial center on par with London or New York.

Stories abound about the hedge fund managers and executives that are propelling the city’s economy to great heights. A quick walk through the parking garage at IFC crystallizes this idea: BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Ferrari, Aston-Martin. In a city of 6.8 million, nearly 300,000 are millionaires. And this is if one counts only liquid assets.

Yet for all the discussion about the wealth of Hong Kong, the vast majority of the population is not seeing such great benefits. Millionaires have seen their wealth grow more then 40 percent in the past year. But since 2000, the number of people making more than $14,000 a year has shrunk as a percentage of the total population. More people are making less than $14,000 in 2006 than at the beginning of the millennium.

Image
A tea vendor in Kennedy Town.

However, this disparity is not commonly reported upon in the mainstream English press. The focus is on the business and financial opportunities that make Hong Kong such an attractive location for these high-powered executives and traders. Though its wealth may not come from those in lower income brackets, Hong Kong cannot ignore the significant contributions to the economy provided by these workers.

It is these people who ensure that the banks’ skyscrapers keep their shine, traders’ lunches are hot and fresh, and executives’ families can buy the products they need for day to day living. Workers earning less than $20,000 per year account for some 57 percent of Hong Kong’s population. So while they may not be the drivers of the city’s growth, they provide an invaluable, and often overlooked, support role in keeping the city running.

Perhaps the best way to take note of this vibrant economy is to look at the city after hours. When the stock market closes and the office lights go out, the Hong Kong's economy switches into its night mode.

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 21 June 2007 )
 
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jmsc-195px-trans.png All content on this website is the work of undergraduate and graduate students taking the New Media Workshop course at the University of Hong Kong 's Journalism and Media Studies Centre , under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Rebecca MacKinnon.

The student stories have been lightly edited for grammar, spelling, and English-language usage by the instructor, with minor formatting adjustments made in some to make the website consistent. However the substance of each story is the work of its authors.  If you have reactions or corrections to any of the content please post a comment at the bottom of the relevant story.