An annual business confidence survey conducted in Hong Kong found that more international companies prefer to invest in Shanghai than in Hong Kong. The survey, conducted by the Better Hong Kong Foundation, found that 59 per cent of respondents said they intended to invest more in Shanghai, compared with 44 per cent in Beijing and only 43 per cent in Hong Kong itself.
The main reasons that participating companies gave for investing outside Hong Kong were the poor standard of English there and high operational costs.