Kiwi making his mark in Hong Kong
Asia is New Zealand’s fastest growing export region but many New Zealanders still fail to grasp just how vital to our interests the region already is, says the New Zealander heading the Asian arm of American insurance giant AIG.
Mark Wilson, formerly of Rotorua, has been based in Hong Kong since just after the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. He is a committed advocate of the Asian region as a transformational economic and political force.
As the president and chief executive of the American International Assurance Company (AIA Group), he is preparing the group’s likely listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, something that could raise up to NZ$15.4 billion.
He told the New Zealand Herald that while the world is clearly waking up to China’s transformation, many New Zealanders don’t understand how much the rest of the region is changing as well.
“I think a lot of Kiwis still haven’t realised the magnitude of it and they still see it in terms of tourism to New Zealand but fundamentally Asia will possibly continue to be our fastest-growing export partner, Wilson told New Zealand Herald business journalist Karyn Scherer.
“We’re now so inextricably linked as a country to Asia. It’s just so fundamental to future development and we have made a lot of gains but we need to make a lot more, and quickly.”
Wilson went to Hong Kong when he was posted there by his then employer Axa. “I love the cultural experience. I love the richness and diversity of it. There’s a lot of old, sophisticated cultures in Asia and as long as you can go in with the view that you can learn something, it’s the most wonderful place that just challenges you intellectually.”
And he notes that while Western economies are currently suffering, Asia is continuing to grow. His advice to young New Zealanders going abroad is to “keep an open mind to New Zealand’s place in the world and the impact of Asia” and to leave behind the “she’ll be right” philosophy. “It doesn’t really work. It’s about the detail; it’s about the numbers; it’s about understanding what’s going on.”
His other advice is to be open-minded about other cultures and to be prepared to listen and learn. “Some of these cultures have been around for thousands of years. It can’t be all wrong.”
The above is based on an original interview with Mr Wilson by Karyn Scherer which was published on Friday 31 July 2009 in the New Zealand Herald. This summary is presented by Asia:NZ Online with the kind permission of Ms Scherer and the New Zealand Herald. Read the original article in full
