Editorial by Managing Director Alexander De Beir
2026, Let's open our minds
The year that has just ended has not been particularly encouraging for those who advocate a free and open economy. 2025 was marked by one keyword: tariffs. Faced with the temptation of isolationism in the world’s largest economy, it is more interesting and useful than ever for us Europeans, who tend to forget our place in the top three economies, to go and observe what is happening “where the sun rises”. As the hub of a rapidly developing economy, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, located barely 15 minutes from each other, already give us a fairly accurate picture of how business will be organized in the future. Present at the Hong Kong Forum last December, I was able to draw some lessons that should inspire us rather than frighten us. Here are the main ones:
1. Attracting new talents
Through its Top Talent Pass scheme, this major economic hub sends a clear message to students from the 100 best universities in the world, including Ghent and Leuven, by welcoming them without a visa for a period of 2 to 3 years depending on their experience and profiles, so that they can start or pursue a professional career there. The interview with young Belgian student Elise De Witte in this TIP-IM shows how attractive this booming region of the world is for our young talents.
2. From cross-border synergy to a super connector
The Chinese economic metropolis of Shenzhen and Hong Kong are already showing us that by crossing borders, we can create hubs that will stand out in the coming centuries, both through their infrastructure, their architecture, their layout for future start-ups and investors, and through the presence of talent. The development of AI there is simply phenomenal. The region has developed into a super connector to international markets that foster mutual growth.
3. Hong Kong, world champion of IPOs
It is the stock market with the most IPOs in 2025, proof that the region is bubbling with ambitions and attracting investors from all over the world.
4. Also a cultural haven
The M+ building in West Kowloon is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world. Local authorities are perfectly aware of the unifying role of culture in bringing people and their economies closer together.
5. Inspiring local AND European personalities
The list would be too long to name all the people who have instilled their overflowing enthusiasm in me. I will mention only two: Sophia Chong, Executive Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and David Lomastro, Consul General of Belgium in Hong Kong, initiator, among others, of the annual Belgian Days, a multi-day cultural festival in November showcasing Belgian art, food, music, and film through various events and experiences across Hong Kong and Macau, celebrating East-meets-West.
6. Fertile soil for the self-employed and Interim Managers
Finally, I discovered not only that the status of self-employed does exist in Hong Kong, but above all that Chinese companies (and others) that settle in this city of more than 7 million inhabitants come here to develop all over the world. In the decades to come, there will therefore be a multitude of projects and functions for Interim Managers who will be able to play an essential role as an intermediary pivot to other world economies. As ADM Interim Management, we intend to play an active role in this, eventually opening our own office there and thus helping to bring Asian and European companies closer together.
Whatever some may think, the world is constantly opening up. Let’s be part of it!
