NSL not a top concern for investors: InvestHK chief

The head of InvestHK, Stephen Phillips, said he doesn’t think the city’s national security law is a top concern for companies when deciding whether to invest in Hong Kong.

“[Companies] are rather more interested in how big is the market, can I get the right talent, can I find right premises, how do I access the customers, the practical things that lead to revenue generation,” he said on RTHK’s NSL Chronicles programme.

The head of the government’s department for attracting foreign investment said companies are accustomed to ensuring they comply with regulations and legislation in all parts of the world, and that Hong Kong’s security law was no different.

Phillips said that when the law was introduced nearly two years ago, firms had concerns, but added: “not so much now.” He said he couldn’t remember the last time an international investor asked him about the law.

Phillips also insisted that “the data doesn’t support the narrative that we have an exodus of companies” from Hong Kong.

He said there was a record high number of mainland and international companies operating in Hong Kong last year, at 9,049, as well as real growth in the number of start-ups in the SAR. InvestHK helped 333 firms to set up or expand in Hong Kong in 2021, he said.

The full programme airs on RTHK’s TV31 at 9.30 on Saturday morning.