We see ourselves as an International Company. Hong Kong as a country has an international brand appeal and people in HK are global in their thinking. So, Hong Kong being what it was, we don’t see ourselves as Asian, but as international. This has been our strength. Our branding has always been global and with the internet as our modality there were no barriers – currency, language, economic. Service with quality and affordability for us became our branding.
Whether or not legal trade agreements ever come into place, whether or not ASEAN works or doesn’t, whether a body like the European Union is ever formed in Asia, we are already there, setting the stage in a sense. It did not need any government impetus to bring Indians to Malaysia or Malaysians to India, or Singaporeans to China and Chinese to Singapore. It was the pure economics of demand and supply. If restrictions were taken off, the flow would be that much faster. The only issues preventing Asia from working together arise from political differences, which have created artificial barriers. If not, I believe, we would very subtly, silently, but surely, merge to one. And that is the strength is that one does not see from the outside.