Hong Kong

Hong Kong is made up of over 230 islands and a small piece of peninsula, and is the gateway to China. The four main areas of Hong Kong are Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories and the Outlying Islands. Shopping is a hugely popular activity for visitors to Hong Kong, and you can find good quality tailoring at low prices. Other traditional things to do while in Hong Kong are to visit a fortune teller at the Wong Tai Sin temple, try your hand at Tai Chi, and sample the Chinese tea ceremony.

Population Hong Kong's population has increased steadily over the past decade, reaching about 6.9 million by 2004. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with an overall density of some 6,380 people per square kilometer. Cantonese, the official Chinese language in Hong Kong, is spoken by most of the population. English, also an official language, is widely understood. It is spoken by more than one-third of the population. Population (2004): 6.975 million. Population growth rate (2004): 1.0%. Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%; other 5%.

Weather The weather in Hong Kong varies substantially. Basically though it depends where you are arriving from as to how you view the weather. Hong Kong weather is considered sub-tropical . For about half of the year, the climate is sub tropical - hot, wet and humid coming up from the equator, but for the winter half of the year, due to the massive Asian land mass to the north and the frozen winds blowing off of it, the temperature is classified as temperate! Temperatures range between 10°C in January and February with not much rain, to 26 34°C from July through to September. The monsoon months are around June and July, and Hong Kong is most likely to be hit by Typhoons in September time.

Employers According to a government study, 43,360 jobs are be created in Hong Kong between 1999 and 2005. Finance, insurance, real estate, and business services will grow the fastest, increasing manpower by an average annual rate of 5.6 percent. Other industries experiencing high growth rates include transport, storage, communications, community services, wholesale, retail, import/export, and restaurants and hotels. Knowledge-based industries, such as computer equipment, telecommunications, and Internet services, will also see a rapid rate of growth. In near future, there will be a shift in demand in favor of high-skill, well educated, more experienced workers. On average, demand for managers, administrators, and professionals will grow at an average rate of 5.6 percent. The total number of IT personnel is expected to almost double.

Who’s hiring? Import/ export trade – aggressively hiring Amusement and recreation services – aggressively hiring Business services – aggressively hiring IT (functional consultants, system programmers) – selectively hiring Strategy consulting and banking – conservatively hiring Real estate and retail – conservatively hiring

Cost of living Hong Kong is a city where you can spend as much or as little as you want. Rent is the biggest outlay, but transport and utility costs are much lower than at home. Food can be very cheap or very expensive- if you’re happy to eat in local restaurants rather than the Peninsula, you’ll be fine!. There are plenty of good buys available through careful shopping and a little bargaining in Cantonese.