Hong Kong is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the
People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. They are a product of
history as both cities were former colonies of UK and Portugal, thus developed
with different legal, political & governing systems. Hong Kong is a
city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta
and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural
harbour.
With a land mass of 1,104km
2 (426sqmi) and a population of seven
million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the
world.
It is six
times the size of Washington, DC. Hong Kong's population is 95percent ethnic
Chinese. With the other 5% made up of different nationalities. Hong Kong's Han
Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and
Taishan in the
neighbouring Guangdong province.
Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has a different
political system from mainland China. Hong
Kong's independent judiciary functions under the common law framework. The Basic
Law of Hong Kong (its constitutional document) which stipulates that Hong Kong
shall have a "high degree of autonomy" in all matters except foreign relations
and military defence, governs its political system. Although it has a burgeoning
multi-party system, a small-circle electorate controls half of its legislature.
An 800-person Election Committee selects the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the
head of government.
As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has
a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade,
and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the
world.
Hong Kong is viewed by many as the gem of the Far East offering the purest
form of a capitalist economy in the region. A free market, low taxation and non
governmental intervention have seen the economy mushroom over the last 100
years. It now boasts the largest number of corporate head offices in the Asia
region, and has the most foreign embassies at 114. Hong Kong is known as one of
the Four Asian Tiger economies as it has high growth rates and rapid
industrialization over a short period of time.
Hong Kong is the natural entry point for doing business in China.