Central Asia is an “untapped goldmine” for Hong Kong enterprises, potentially offering more opportunities than the Middle East, said Cliff Zhang, chief executive and founding partner of investment firm Templewater.
The region, like the Middle East, has rich natural resources and a large young population that shares a similar Muslim culture, but is relatively less developed compared to the Gulf nations, Zhang said in a group interview ahead of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Zhang will be part of Lee’s delegation to promote cooperation on the economy and trade.
Central Asia offers a high potential for future cooperation and investments, especially in the real estate, medical, and mining sectors, Zhang said, comparing it with China in the early 90s.
As an economy develops, demand for properties across the residential, office, shopping mall, and hotel sectors is usually the first to rise; and enterprises from Hong Kong, one of the major property markets, have a strong capability to meet the need, he said.
While there are higher legal and regulatory risks in emerging markets, the rewards are also greater, he said, adding that many investors, regardless of industry, have reaped substantial returns from placing their bets on China back then, he said.
Zhang stressed that the plan to expand into Central Asia is not related to tensions in the Middle East, but rather a “must” to reduce reliance on a single market amid changing geopolitics over the past few years.
