Hong Kong has no time to lose in harnessing the ‘silver economy'
For decades Hong Kong has put religious faith in a free economy that adapts quickly to change. Hence the concept that the market leads, and the government facilitates. Arguably the biggest change over the years is demographic, in the form of an ageing population. Fifty years ago about one in 12 Hongkongers was over 65. Now the ratio is more than one in five, predicted to become one in three by 2043.
Advertisement
That is one change we have not adapted to. The need to do so is increasingly urgent. The government stepped in when Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his policy address last October the setting up of a working group to promote the 'silver economy'. The group, headed by Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing, reported back on Tuesday with proposals to tap into what is now the city's multibillion dollar sector.
Cheuk outlined key areas including boosting consumption by the over-65s, developing industries tied to the silver economy, enhancing financial arrangements for the demographic and unleashing the productivity of older residents. Analysts say the plan requires concrete measures to increase elderly participation in the workforce and give them more income, such as a flexible retirement age and better medical insurance.
These are practical issues, not a wish list. The demographic reality is that, proportionately, there will be ever fewer people to support ever more elderly, both physically and financially. They are also a force for consumption and productivity that Hong Kong must harness.
It offers rich rewards if our economy still has the capacity to adapt to change, which is key to its resilience. It is time for the government to show the way as well as smooth the path ahead.
Advertisement
As the elderly have become healthier, wealthier and better educated, they have created a huge demand for products and services in medical and healthcare, leisure and recreation, and home and personal care. Spending by the over-60s was put at HK$342 billion in 2024, or about 11 per cent of the city's gross domestic product.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Triangular diplomacy a tricky tightrope to walk for Asia-Pacific leaders
Middle and major powers are using trade, investment and technology as weapons of influence in pursuit of triangular diplomacy, a stratagem of Cold War realpolitik. However, the strengths of this approach – agility, ambiguity and tactical scope – hide the dangers of entanglements that escalate instability. A nation triangulates by balancing and manoeuvring between two other powers , building leverage, reducing dependency and becoming indispensable to multiple sides without fully committing to any. Triangular diplomacy is now a prominent approach for leaders negotiating a world where post-war institutions are in decline, autarkic capitalism is emerging, military budgets are soaring and multilateral commitments are being reassessed by US President Donald Trump. President Richard Nixon's emissary, Henry Kissinger , orchestrated this statecraft in the 1970s by using the Sino-Soviet rivalry to bolster America's power. He fostered closer ties with Beijing and Moscow individually as he kept both unsure of Washington's commitment to either.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Faulty prostate cancer tests leave 406 Hong Kong patients with nervy wait
Hong Kong public hospitals are reviewing blood test results of more than 400 patients after batches of a reagent were found to have quality issues that could produce false positives for prostate cancer Advertisement The Hospital Authority said on Tuesday that it was following up with the supplier of a testing product after being notified by the firm last week about complaints elsewhere related to quality issues. The product, supplied by Abbott Laboratories, is a reagent kit that detects the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in blood. An elevated level may be a sign of prostate cancer. The product's quality issues could 'potentially lead to a misdiagnosis of prostate cancer, causing doctors to erroneously consider unnecessary treatments', the authority said. Two batches of the affected products were sent to Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po and Tuen Mun Hospital. Advertisement While Tuen Mun Hospital had not started to use the product, Caritas Medical Centre had already tested blood samples of 406 patients with the PSA kit since April 28. It has reviewed the test results and will contact about 70 patients this week, and rearrange blood tests based on their clinical needs.
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Lee Jae-myung projected to win South Korean presidential election: exit polls
South Korea's liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is expected to win the country's snap presidential election, according to projections by local broadcasters. Advertisement Reuters has not independently confirmed the results of the joint exit poll on Tuesday by broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, which put Lee on 51.7 per cent and his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on 39.3 per cent. The exit poll has in previous elections mostly been in line with the final results. A separate poll by broadcaster JTBC put Lee at 50.6 per cent and Kim at 39.4 per cent. Channel A also predicted a Lee win by similar margins. Around 78 per cent of South Korea's 44.39 million eligible voters had cast ballots to pick the leader of Asia's fourth-largest economy, hoping to draw to a close six months of turmoil triggered by a shock martial law briefly imposed by former leader Yoon Suk-yeol. National Election Commission officials prepare to count the ballots for the presidential election in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters After being impeached by parliament in December, Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court on April 4, less than three years into his five-year term, triggering the snap election that now stands to remake South Korea's political leadership and foreign policies.
