Hong Kong, 23 February 2012 - A new survey from global workspace provider Regus has revealed the attributes that Hong Kong businesses believe to be most important in terms of attracting businesses to set up in new markets. The research is timely since more than half of the companies surveyed (52%) said that they were considering setting up in a new market.

Establishing a presence in a new market can involve challenges, such as finding new partners and customers, navigating regulatory frameworks, and finding the right people and premises. Hong Kong companies appear to have firm criteria for judging the business-friendliness – or otherwise – of a given market. Top of the list of considerations is 'ease of doing business' believed to be important by more than eight out of ten companies (84%).

Unsurprisingly, economic stability was also ranked as an important market attribute, with 61% of companies including it in their list of concerns.

"Enterprises evaluating which markets to expand into need to anticipate the challenges of doing so," said Hans Leijten, Regus's vice-president, East Asia. "It's vital that they do their homework and find out everything they need to know about the market they're moving into.”

What are your criteria for selecting a country to set up operations in?	Percentage
1.    Ease of doing business (finding partners or customers)	84%
2.    Economic stability	61%
3.    Government / regulatory framework	59%
4.    Political stability	56%
5.    Cost of office / space rental	48%
6.    Access to quality local talent	47%
7.    Proximity to other markets in a region	43%
8.    Cost / standard of living	35%

Traditionally, Hong Kong has been extremely business-friendly. This was recognised in January when the city was ranked top out of 179 economies in the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom.[1] Hong Kong has led the rankings every year since the Index was first published in 1995, and it scored 89.9 out of a maximum score of 100 this year, with the world average at 59.5.

"Hong Kong has always been an attractive market for businesses, both home-grown and from overseas," said Andrew Davis, Associate Director-General, Invest Hong Kong. "Hong Kong has the infrastructure, the low tax base and the talent to make it a very compelling choice. In under a week and for a very low cost, a company can be up and running, and exactly the same rules apply to local and foreign-owned companies."

A recent report^[2] from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council also underlines the Hong Kong government's commitment to helping businesses weather the financial storms of 2011-12. The report sets out recently-announced government measures to increase Hong Kong's competitiveness and to support SMEs, including efforts to build ties with emerging and neighbouring economies and the setting up of a $1 billion fund to help Hong Kong enterprises to tap the mainland market.

Regus client Daniel Yen, CEO of Digital Marketing ROI, a marketing technology company, agrees. "We also work in Singapore and serve clients in several regional and global markets. In Hong Kong we are able to source the talent, technical ability, and flexibility that our company needs to accelerate its growth. Factor in the attractive cost-base and lack of red-tape, and Hong Kong was clearly the right choice for us."

Leijten adds, “Entering a new market is never easy. We’ve helped thousands of companies to establish themselves in Hong Kong, and we know first hand what a fantastic environment the city offers for new businesses.  For companies looking to set up shop in Hong Kong or indeed at any of the 95 other countries where we are present, we would recommend taking a flexible and cost-effective approach to your workplace.”

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