Kiwis take flight in Hong Kong

Neil Pryde, blitzed the competition in the boardroom.

Enterprising New Zealanders are making their mark through a mixture of risk taking and hard work 

Once home to fishermen and farmers, modern Hong Kong is a teeming, commercially-vibrant metropolis where Chinese and Western influences fuse. It is also a place where people from all over the world, including many New Zealanders come to set up businesses and explore entrepreneurial opportunities. 

There are few better examples of a businessman and sportsman turned entrepreneur than New Zealand-born former accountant Neil Pryde.  Mr Pryde set up home in Hong Kong more than 40-years ago where his enthusiasm for yachting took him to Mexico as a member of the 1968 Hong Kong Olympic sailing team. 

For more than three decades, the name Neil Pryde, has been synonymous with the sport of windsurfing. Originally set up in 1970 to manufacture yacht sails, Neil Pryde Ltd moved into windsurfing sail production in the mid 1970s at the peak of the sport's popularity, producing up to 380,000 sails a year under a variety of brand names. 

Today the company produces around 60,000 units a year exclusively under the Neil Pryde brand. To meet demand the company employees   more than 2,000 staff on the Chinese mainland and in Thailand and exports to more than 40 countries. 

Building on its reputation as the world leader in high performance boardsailing equipment, the New Zealand-born entrepreneur has diversified the company's operations to become a key manufacturer of snowboarding, kite surfing equipment and board sports accessories. 

Mr Pryde says Hong Kong's low tax base, infrastructure and telecommunications systems make it the ideal location to serve the global market.
"Doing business and living in Hong Kong is like board sports themselves - constantly evolving, rarely predictable and always exciting," said Mr Pryde. 

With more than 270,000 US dollar millionaires in Hong Kong, financial planning is a rapidly growing industry. 

Phil Neilson, chief executive officer of the Henley Group, an independent finical service company moved to Hong Kong in 2002 to join the financial services industry.

"This move reflects my belief in the growth potential for well managed financial service businesses in Asia particularly in relation to the delivery of professional independent advisory services," said Mr Neilson who grew up in Dunedin but lived and worked in Auckland before moving to Hong Kong. 

In line with other professions journalism in Hong Kong is on a par with international standards. Kevin Sinclair, award winning and internationally renowned journalist has been reporting on everything from politics to the price of a beer since he arrived in 1968. He was forced to change his original plan of reporting in China when he discovered the bamboo curtain firmly closed   and started work as a reporter on racy afternoon tabloid, The Star. 

Now, 38 years later as a South China Morning Post columnist he said he finds daily journalism just as exciting as when he began his career as a copy boy on the Evening Post in Wellington in 1959.

"Work on New Zealand newspapers gives you a good, solid foundation for a career in journalism," said Mr Sinclair, who was recently named the Pacific Asia Travel Association 2006 Journalist of the Year. 

Government statistics indicated there are about 2, 500 New Zealanders   resident in Hong Kong. It is likely the number is much higher when taking into account dual nationals. 

New Zealanders are widely represented in all areas of business   in Hong Kong and hold prominent positions in sectors such as the legal profession, finance, the power industry, the construction industry, transport, medicine, teaching and accountancy.

It is not only in business where New Zealand has made an impact. 

Regulatory policies as well as overseeing mergers and acquisitions relating to Hong Kong's   telecommunications industry is the responsibility of Bernard Hill, a former Wellington native who is   head of competition affairs at Hong Kong's Telecommunications Authority. 

Before moving to Hong Kong Mr Hill spent 25 years practicing competition law, including a stint in the 1980s as director of special duties for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. 

On the sporting front, New Zealanders have been active in the promotion of rugby, yachting and tennis. New Zealand has been a major presence in recent years at the annual Hong Kong Rugby Sevens competition. 

While hardly considered residents, some of New Zealand's rugby greats have been first blooded at the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.  Christian Cullen was a little- known teenager when he made his breakthrough in Hong Kong, taking the 1995 Sevens by storm. It was Cullen's pace on the outside which gave the Kiwis the balance to beat Fiji in 1995 and 1996. 

Then there is Cullen's legendary teammate, Jonah Lomu, who first came to international attention at the 1994 Hong Kong Sevens tournament as part of a fearsome Kiwi team that also included Eric Rush. 

A strong New Zealand business community naturally supports several active institutions. The New Zealand chamber of commerce in Hong Kong, includes   more than 150 members. The New Zealand Society of Hong Kong has around 250 members while the New Zealand Wine and Food Society promotes awareness of New Zealand's high-quality produce. 

With many Hong Kong students choosing to study in New Zealand, Victoria, Auckland and Otago Universities have alumni association links with Hong Kong.