{"id":125047,"date":"2025-11-20T13:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/11\/20\/hong-kong-poised-to-build-sustainable-sports-economy-after-co-hosting-national-games\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T13:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:06:08","slug":"hong-kong-poised-to-build-sustainable-sports-economy-after-co-hosting-national-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/hong-kong-poised-to-build-sustainable-sports-economy-after-co-hosting-national-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong poised to build sustainable sports economy after co-hosting national games"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEIJING, China, Nov 20 \u2014 By successfully co-hosting the ongoing 15th National Games, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has demonstrated that it has what it takes to evolve beyond the sporting arena, shape strategy and drive long-term momentum to capitalize on the event, experts said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sports executives and policy experts called for carrying out institutional groundwork and innovating sports-finance solutions to foster a sustainable sports economy that would benefit the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the country as a whole.<\/p>\n

Speaking to China Daily, World Table Tennis CEO Steve Dainton said that Hong Kong ticked all the boxes when it came to \u201cvision, capacity and connectivity to the wider sports economy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the fact that the city has been chosen to host table tennis\u2019 season-ending WTT Finals in December, Dainton said: \u201cWhen you put all of this together \u2014 event capability, international appeal, and a city that already thinks in terms of big events \u2014 Hong Kong becomes a very natural home for the WTT Finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dainton said he believes that for sports tournaments to generate long-term economic and social value, host cities should be clear about the benefits of hosting, build true collaboration between stakeholders, and focus relentlessly on the quality of experience, especially for fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe encouraging thing about Hong Kong is that many of the fundamentals of a sustainable sports-events ecosystem are already present,\u201d Dainton noted. \u201cThe next step is more about linking them together around a common story.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, there is strong public support for strengthening Hong Kong\u2019s role in the mega events economy. \u201cThe city has a robust tourism appeal, a strong business community, and a base that already understands sports like table tennis. When those elements are aligned, each major event reinforces the next,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Kenny Shui, vice-president of Our Hong Kong Foundation and executive director of the Public Policy Institute, said the greater spillover and broader impact cannot happen without the SAR government\u2019s strategic coordination to align large-scale sports competitions with art and MICE events \u2014 meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions \u2014 in a bundled manner.<\/p>\n

Shui highlighted the significance of deeper institutional groundwork. One path, he said, would be to transform the National Games Coordination Office \u2014 set up by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of Hong Kong in 2023 \u2014 into a permanent entity to host large-scale multi-sports events.<\/p>\n

Leveraging Hong Kong\u2019s entrenched status as a world-renowned financial hub, Shui suggested introducing sports-related financial products, such as event rights trading, sports bonds and real estate investment trusts in the city\u2019s market, which would allow Chinese mainland investors to access global sports assets with ease.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, the city can serve as a clearinghouse for international sponsorship agreements, athlete endorsements and intellectual property licensing, thereby lowering barriers for Chinese brands entering global leagues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunds raised for major events in Hong Kong can be reinvested into the Greater Bay Area infrastructure, creating a virtuous cycle where sports drives urban development,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

As the Chinese sports industry expands its global footprint, Shui said that Hong Kong\u2019s robust initial public offering market and private equity channels are valuable platforms for raising capital to support overseas acquisitions and international marketing. Leading brands such as Anta and Li-Ning have already leveraged Hong Kong as a springboard for international growth \u2014 from mergers, overseas retail expansion to sponsorships.<\/p>\n

Chi Sum Li, head of government and public sector in Hong Kong for KPMG China, noted the city\u2019s unique value in \u201csoft infrastructure\u201d, including international standards, IP protection and global connectivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can drive the regional sports economy by coordinating standards, facilitating cross-border collaboration for sports tech, and supporting the development of a sports brand of the Greater Bay Area for international promotion,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n

For more visit\u00a0China Daily<\/a><\/p>\n

For subscriptions on news from China Daily, or inquiries, please contact China Daily Africa Ltd on +254 20 6920900 or write to enquiries@chinadailyafrica.com<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIJING, China, Nov 20 \u2014 By successfully co-hosting the ongoing 15th National Games, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has demonstrated that it has what it takes to evolve beyond the sporting arena, shape strategy and drive long-term momentum to capitalize on the event, experts said. Sports executives and policy experts called for carrying out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125047\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}