Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong has long been a financial center in Asia and a major global city. Its unique colonial history, its laissez-faire economic policies in the last century, and its booming economic achievements today have attracted immigrants from all over the world. Ranging from high-skilled westerners engaging in the business of education to relatively less wealthy South Asians working in labor-intensive industries, these migrants with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds have contributed to the constant growth of immigrant entrepreneurship in Hong Kong. In this chapter, we dissect the 2016 Hong Kong By-census to document the diverse characteristics of immigrant entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. We will explore the sociodemographic backgrounds of immigrant entrepreneurs and the locational and industrial distribution of their businesses. Additionally, we will delineate the Chinese influence on immigrant entrepreneurs in Hong Kong after the Handover in 1997.