Presentation to Hong Kong-Canada Business Association Vancouver 31 October 2012 Yuen Pau Woo President & CEO Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada 1
The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APFC) is an independent, not-for-profit think-tank on Canada s relations with Asia The Foundation brings together people and knowledge to provide current and comprehensive research, analysis and information on Canada s transpacific relations In 2011, we launched the National Conversation Asia a civil society-led, private sector funded initiative to help Canadians better understand, and respond to, the rise of Asia 2
GDP (PPP) as % of World Share 16.0% 14.0% 14.3% 12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 5.6% 5.6% 2000 2006 2011* 4.0% 2.0% 0.0% 1.8% 2.0% 0.45% Canada China India Japan S. Korea Hong Kong SAR *IMF Estimate 3
(2001) (2005) (2010) Japan = $7.86 billion HK SAR = $3.93 billion S. Korea = $269 million China = $219 million India = $29 million Japan = $10.5 billion HK SAR = $6.17 billion China = $928 million S. Korea = $397 million India = $171 million Japan = $12.6 billion China = $11.7 billion India = $4.36 billion S. Korea = $5.08 billion HK SAR = Data Withheld 4
1.50% 1.40% 1.30% 1.20% Share of Exports From Major Asian Economies to Canada (as % of Total Exports from Major Asian Economies)* 1.10% 1.00% Share of Canadian Exports to Major Asia Economies (as % of Total Imports to Major Asian Economies)* 0.90% 0.80% 2001 2005 2010 * Major Asian Economies included are China, India, Indonesia, Japan, S. Korea, and Thailand 5
Vancouver s Asian Population (as % of total city population) [Canada Census 2006] 10 Most Common Unofficial Mother Languages in Vancouver (as % of total unofficial languages)* [Canada Census 2006] Korean, 2% Southeast Asian, 2% Japanese, 1% Hindi, 2.8% Vietnamese, Persian 2.5% (Farsi), 3.2% Spanish, 3.2% Italian, 2.1% German, 3.6% Filipino, 4% Chinese, 18% Korean, 4.9% South Asian, 10% Tagalog, 6.0% Punjabi, 14.2% * Chinese languages include Cantonese, Mandarin, etc.. Chinese languages, 38.4% 6
Canadian Companies Actively or Interested in Exporting to Asia by City (as % of total companies by city)* 14.0% 12.0% 12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 6.8% 5.3% 3.6% 4.5% 5.2% 4.9% 4.2% Vancouver Montreal Toronto 2.5% 2.0% 0.0% CHINA HONG KONG INDIA INDONESIA JAPAN SOUTH KOREA TAIWAN THAILAND VIETNAM * Total companies refers to those registered with Industry Canada as of Oct. 15 th, 2012 7
BC and Canada Trade with Asia (as share of total trade) 45.0% 40.0% 40.9% 35.0% 30.0% 33.5% 25.0% 20.0% 19.4% 22.1% 25.5% BC Canada* 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 4.9% 6.0% 7.0% 9.3% 10.4% 0.0% 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 º Includes major Asia Pacific Economies (China, HK, Taiwan, Japan, S. Korea, India) * Asia Economies (excluding Middle East) 8
Many cities have large Asian populations and Asian cultural features, but the uniqueness of Vancouver is in the extensive connections of its residents with contemporary Asia Most major Asian cultural and religious festivals are publicly celebrated in Vancouver Chinese New Year Countdown /Parade is a bigger celebration in Vancouver than Dec. 31 st Diwali is celebrated across lower mainland and perhaps the biggest festival in the Surrey calendar There are dozens of Asia-themed business, cultural and social societies/organizations that operate in the Vancouver area APF Canada partnered with one such group to bring more than 80 private sector investors from China to attend a Canada-China investment forum in Vancouver two weeks ago The annual Indian Summer festival in Vancouver is a convening of arts and ideas that focuses on Canada s contemporary connections to India Vancouver is the most Asian city outside of Asia not because of Asian heritage, but because of the extensive and ongoing ties to what is currently happening in Asia Canadians in Asia (600,000 strong) are a big part of these contemporary connections because of their transnational lives 9
Patrick Theiner, Creative Commons Manhattan(midtown) 14.5/ km 2 Updatednews.ca Toronto(downtown) 14.7/km 2 Building Opportunities with Business Vancouver(downtown) = 15.0/ km 2 10
The Asia Pacific Gateway Initiative focuses mainly on throughput But the long-term value of a gateway lies in the economic activity that takes place within the gateway, not in what passes through it Focus should be on a Gateway Economy, not on the gateway as such Wiki Commons 11
Builds on geographic assets, but is not dependent on them Leverages transportation activities to create business opportunities based on traditional gateway functions Extends into global manufacturing and services Capitalises on skills, knowledge, networks already resident in the region and seeks to attract new talent Focuses on destination, not transit lounge 12
Hong Kong Continuous Improvement in transportation infrastructure Extensive supporting secondary services & industries Resiliency in the face of regional competition National Geographic The most Canadian city in Asia (300,000+ Canadians in HK) 13
Impressive foundation of physical infrastructure that includes advanced container facilities and a modern airport In 2011, around 410 000 sea-going vessels and river-trade vessels arrived in and departed from Hong Kong Its nine container terminals have a total handling capacity of over19 million TEUs HK International Airport has over 100 airlines operating flights to about 170 locations worldwide, including 47 destinations on the Chinese Mainland (63 flights/hour at peak hours) HK-Zhuhai-Macau link 14
Defining advantage of HK s gateway is its human capital and supporting secondary services & industries Gateway functions include banking and finance, business management, higher education, and port and airport development Hong Kong Polytechnic University offers a Master of Science in International Shipping and Transport Logistics Competition from Guangzhou and Shanghai Responding to threats means not resting on geographical advantages Global competence regardless of geographical location West Kowloon Cultural Centre 15 performing arts venues; 3 hectares of piazza areas, as well as a cultural institution with museum functions, and an Exhibition Centre with focus on arts and culture and creative industry 15
Creating a Healthy Climate for Growth & Prosperity Providing Support for Local Business, New Investment and Global Trade Focusing on People Attracting and Retaining Human Capital 16
Focus on building soft and hard infrastructure that strengthens our ties with Asian countries Develop an Asia Pacific Gateway Economy Plan that connects the traditional gateway focus with value-added industrial activity and service sector development Encourage a focus on Asia as the standout competitive niche for our art and cultural institutions, and music/film/literary festivals Establish a world-class Asian cultural institution in the downtown core of the city, as part of a national centre on Contemporary Asia Position Vancouver as a place where Asian business, political, and civil society leaders congregate, and as a place which is plugged into the ideas, debates, and issues affecting the Asia Pacific region 17
Attract Asian businesses to set up regional head offices in Vancouver, and western businesses to use Vancouver as a jumping off point to do business in Asia Focus on attracting major Asia Pacific business, research, and trade conferences/conventions to hold events in Vancouver by positioning the city as North America s Asian capital Promote the development of business services that complement gateway activities 18
Mobilize the Asia talent that already exists in Vancouver to leverage their access to networks, business opportunities, and capital Develop Vancouver as a World-Class Education Hub with special focus on Asia Canada only has 4% of world s market share for international students, compared to 7% for Australia, 12% for the UK, and 20% for the US Attract leading Asian educational institutions to set up satellite programs / research facilities in BC 19
We need a world class centre on Asia in Canada to showcase the country s commitment to the Asia Pacific and to build our capacity in an increasingly Asiacentric world Every major city in the west can have a world-class Asia centre (and many do), but only Vancouver can connect this facility with a deep connection to the region as the most Asian city outside of Asia Mission Knowledge generation and delivery Global convening power An art & cultural hub 20
Position Vancouver as the leading source of ideas/engagement regarding Asia Unanimous support by universities in lower mainland Focus on Canadian competitiveness, targeting social and business entrepreneurs, cultural innovators, investors, and CEOs Preparing the next generation of leaders for an Asia Pacific future 21
Hosting major Asia Pacific events/conferences in Vancouver Generating the ideas that will shape the development of a region that still has many economic and security challenges A proud venue for the Canadian government and other organizations to host top-level visitors from Asia 22
There are no major Asia-centred cultural institutions in the downtown core This is the opportunity to build a major cultural component focused on Asia Centre would partner with local cultural institutions (VAG, MOA, etc) to be a genuine authority in the contemporary art scene 23