Hong Kong should shift its focus to developing an “creator economy” from financial and tertiary services, New World Development (00017.HK) chief executive officer Adrian Cheng Chi-kong said.
Speaking in a forum at the University of Hong Kong on Monday, Cheng said in the past 25 years, the SAR has concentrated on financial and tertiary services to achieve its current status as an international financial hub.
But in the future, the city should place much emphasis on innovation, particularly in the aspects of drug development, life science and metaverse.
“We should nourish our next generation to become creators,” he said, adding they should be given opportunities to create unique brands and products such as NFT, a platform that allows anyone to make an influence to the society with their very own creativity.
Cheng said he is “100 percent optimistic” about the coming 25 years in Hong Kong.
“By 2047, the post-millennials, meaning those born after 1997 including the Generation Z will be aged 19 to 50, and they will constitute 5 million of the population, making them a major pillar in Hong Kong development and the major driving force in the city’s consumption market,” he said.
But he said enterprises should no longer put profits as their first priority.
“The concept of companies having to earn each and every penny is old-fashioned,” he said, adding New World has embraced a new target to “build values of sharing” and to grow together with society.
