Bernard Chan on the phenomenal rise of Shenzhen, and how the dynamics of its relations with Hong Kong play out, both in terms of competition as well as synergies. 

Mr Bernard Charnwut Chan is a Deputy to the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. He was a Member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the HKSAR) (from 2004 to 2009, and from 2012 to 2022), the Convenor of its Non-Official Members (from 2017 to 2022), and a Member of the Legislative Council (Insurance Functional Constituency) of the HKSAR (from 1998 to 2008). A graduate of Pomona College in California, Mr Chan is the Chairman and President of Asia Financial Holdings Limited, and the Chairman of Asia Insurance Company Limited. He is the Chairman of the Hong Kong-Thailand Business Council, and an advisor to Bangkok Bank (China) Company Limited. He sits on the boards of several local and overseas companies in financial services, and is a Director of Bumrungrad Hospital Public Company in Thailand. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2002, and a Commander (3rd Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand in 2004. In 2006, he was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the HKSAR Government, and in 2020 he received Hong Kong’s highest honor, the Grand Bauhinia Medal. He has been conferred honorary degrees from Lingnan University, City University, Open University, and Savannah College of Art and Design.

Insights

Shenzhen vs Hong Kong