Pioneering Hong Kong investors in Belt and Road markets describe challenges and opportunities

Experience described as especially valuable when tackling unfamiliar markets

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Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of the family-run conglomerate Sunwah Group, in Central. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 8:01am, 10 May 2017Updated: 5:00pm, 10 May 2017

Political and foreign exchange risks are among the top challenges pioneering Hong Kong investors have faced in markets along China’s ambitious trade strategy, but opportunities exist such as undervalued assets and growing consumption markets, according to businessmen familiar with those countries.

Touted by President Xi Jinping, the “Belt and Road Initiative” aims to open up trade via two corridors: the land-based Silk Road economic belt in the north, and the maritime Silk Road in the south.

But experience counts when it comes to investing in these largely unfamiliar markets. The Post spoke to several businessmen with substantial experience along the corridors to gain some insights into the main challenges and opportunities.

Jonathan Choi Koon-shum, chairman of conglomerate Sunwah Group, is particularly familiar with the maritime Silk Road, as his family-owned firm has operated seafood, coffee and real estate businesses in Vietnam for decades, while also investing in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

Political risks usually include policy and legal changes, and occasionally, a change of government. But it can be even more extreme, said Choi, who is also chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in the city. “Our company was doing business in the former South Vietnam [in the 1970s], but after the civil war ended, we had to start all over again.”