Hong Kong's leading foreign business chambers are calling on the city to embrace its creative and sporting industries as a cornerstone of its first five-year plan, saying mega events are key to maintaining Hong Kong's status as Asia's World City.

Paul McComb, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said he was "quite excited" about the creative and cultural sectors, noting that east-meets-west cultural exchanges were "a big feature" of the plan.

"We've got some incredible venues for performing arts, stage plays, sports and actually the power of those sort of cultural and creative exchanges I think are part of what makes Hong Kong the most international city in China and if you think of Asia's world city as a concept, it's because it's welcoming to all," he said.

McComb pointed to Coldplay’s sold-out shows, the annual Rugby Sevens and the summer Football Festival, which have packed stadiums.

"Those things really amplify the international nature of this city," he said, adding that more people from those sectors need to be active in Hong Kong to make the most of its venues.

While Hong Kong is known as an international financial centre, Mary Simpson, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said it was "really encouraging" that the five-year plan cited sport as an industry.

"There's around 100,000 Australians here [in Hong Kong]. It is the second largest expat Australian community in the world that is based here in Hong Kong and to see sport elevated in such a way is important because it's part of our national identity," she said.

Simpson said the chamber would "love to see just more mega events being hosted in the city", saying they boost tourism and spending in food and beverage and other sectors.

Johannes Hack, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, echoed the football theme.

He noted that one of the city's international schools already had a partnership with a German football club to bring a football academy to Hong Kong.



Edited by Tony Sabine