Hong Kong Tips: Business culture and etiquette

If you would like to have company in Hong Kong, you might want to know a bit more about the local working culture.

Are you not a native in Hong Kong? If you would like to come and start a business in Hong Kong, you might want to learn more work etiquette in the city. Beginning from dress code, businesspeople dress pretty conventional there, likely in black suits, ties and shirts. Wearing dark and muted tones are typically safe and the finest decision for your clothing. Unless you are an artist, simply avoid wearing suits with fancy patterns which might show an unprofessional impression to other people. Talking about colour, there are some circumstances when you are suggested to wear bright colours like red, which is thought a lucky colour. You might want to wear a red tie at the time of standard festivals such as Lunar New Year. Next time, if you are going to meet some CEOs like Peter Wong of HSBC, you can wear some accessories in red to give your meeting good fortune.

Company always involves meetings and negotiations. If you want to arrange a business meeting in Hong Kong, it is invariably an excellent idea to make appointments beforehand. Usually it'll happen in your workplace or your company contact’s office. If both parties have a good partnership, they would like eating a conference in a causal way, such as having a lunch meeting in a restaurant or a coffee shop. In Hong Kong, aside from all the international holidays, they likewise have actually some exciting local public holidays such as Lunar New Year and Dragon Boat Festival. Try to avoid scheduling appointments around these holidays as these are the time for individuals collecting with their family, like Christmas in western tradition. Remember this advice when you're planning a meeting with some company heads like Mary Huen of Standard Chartered Bank.

Hong Kong is an international business city. Although it is an Asian city, the work culture in Hong Kong is closer to the western business world. Here are a few things for you to know more about the local business culture like general behavior, dress code and manners. Let’s begin with greetings. You might believe that every Asian will bow to one another when greeting. It's partially true for several Asian communities. In Hong Kong, you can only greet your business friends with a strong handshake. This is possibly the maximum of physical contact for most of business meeting there as they don’t really see hugging a common business greeting gesture. Likewise, here is yet another tip for greeting. Whenever you greet in Hong Kong, usually greet the most senior person first. This is the most normal courtesy in Asian workplaces particularly in Hong Kong. So, remember if you would see some well-known business people like David Li of BEA, ensure you greet him first.

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