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A shortage of English-language school places in Hong Kong is hurting expatriate families and damaging the city's reputation as a regional business hub, parents and lobby groups say.

The situation is driving some companies to look at alternatives such as Singapore, Bangkok and Shanghai, they say.

International chambers of commerce have united to pressure the semi-autonomous Chinese's territory to wake up to the problem, but say their pleas for action have fallen on deaf ears.

"There is no space and no flexibility for families like ours. It's a big sacrifice on my family's part ... to come to Hong Kong," said a recently arrived American businessman and father-of-two, requesting anonymity.

"All we as parents are concerned with coming to Hong Kong is will any school accept our children? A lot of firms have decided to go to other cities in Asia where school accessibility is easier. Hong Kong is losing out."

Hong Kong had the dubious distinction of making assignment services firm Brookfield Global Relocation's Top 20 list of most challenging destinations for the first time last year, with schooling cited as the major problem.

"This continues to be the number one burning issue that (foreign companies) are facing in growing their businesses out here," in Hong Kong, said Janet de Silva, the American Chamber of Commerce's (AmCham) education affairs group chairwoman.

Immigration department figures show the number of US and UK passport holders issued with Hong Kong employment visas increased 42.48 percent from 2009 to 2011, as more people are drawn to the city as a gateway to the Chinese market.

But the former British colony's English-language schools have struggled to keep up with the demand due to land shortages, red tape and funding problems.

School waiting lists typically contain up to 100 names, and only two state-funded English-language schools had any spare spaces at the start of this year, according to school data and relocation specialists.

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Hong Kong's school place shortage deters expats

THERE have been far fewer consumer complaints from expats in Shanghai, which authorities attribute to the language barrier and poor publicity of the hotline service.

Compared to the huge number of complaints received from Chinese consumers - more than 111,000 - the city's consumer rights hotline 12315 only received 18 complaints from expats last year. China marks Consumer Rights Day today.

The city had more than 200,000 overseas residents at the end of 2010, according to the country's latest population census.

This does not mean that expats don't encounter consumer disputes. According to the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau, expats' complaints cover a wide range of problems, including public transport services, flights, food safety and apartment rent. But for various reasons, they won't call the hotline but try to solve the problem via other means, like legal action, or stay silent.

An American man who preferred to stay anonymous said he once called the hotline to complain about an airline company over ticket refund, but the operator hung up as soon as he spoke English. "I had to give up and asked my Chinese friends for help," the American said, adding that he believed the operator couldn't speak English.

Another expat, Obed, a Kenyan studying at Shanghai University, claimed he was not even aware of any hotline for consumers. "So if I had some consumer rights problems, I would just let it go," he said.

The Shanghai Commission for Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection admitted the hotline is not known among expats but officials still have no plans to promote the service. "We accept English complaints, but we don't have a special platform for them," said Zhao Jiaoli, an official with the commission.

Zhao said several operators at the hotline speak English, but only one is an English major.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision said its hotline 12365, which accepts complaints about product quality and food safety, has seldom received complaints from foreigners despite opening an English service several years ago. The officials said this was "quite normal" because the bureau has never promoted the hotline's English service.

In fact, some Chinese consumers have complained that the hotline was difficult to access.

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Eastday-Expats shrug off consumer gripes

-- Over 250 senior financiers gathered to hear from Professor Chan, Ashley Alder, the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong and Peter Pang, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

-- Senior representatives from Allianz Global Investors, BlackRock Asset Management, HSBC Hong Kong, PingAn of China Asset Management and Harvest Global Investments as well as the financial regulators of Hong Kong also spoke about the benefits of doing business in Hong Kong

NEW YORK, March 15,2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Speaking to an audience of over 250 senior financial services executives at the opening of the New York conference, Professor Chan said, "As the world searches for growth, Hong Kong continues to offer unrivalled advantages and opportunities to businesses wanting to seize the Eastern advantage. Hong Kong with its prime location and international connectivity has long been serving as a gateway for businesses into and out of Mainland China.

"As China's premier city for global finance and a tried and trusted testing ground for new ideas throughout China's economic reform, Hong Kong is the natural choice for piloting the liberalisation of the RMB. The three key areas of offshore RMB business that Hong Kong is developing are banking, capital-raising and trade settlement. Our RMB offshore platform is not just for the benefit and convenience of Hong Kong and China. It is designed to benefit everyone who wishes to embrace China's latest development miracle."

Professor K.C. Chan, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the HKSAR Government, was the keynote speaker at today's conference in New York. His speech was followed by two panel discussions among senior business representatives:

Peter Pang, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, who led the panel discussion on the deepening of Hong Kong's renminbi market, said: "Since the launch of RMB banking in Hong Kong in 2004, RMB deposits in Hong Kong have grown to around RMB 576 billion as at the end of January 2012. That is about 1.6 times the amount a year earlier and is testament to the attractiveness of Hong Kong's unique advantages to businesses the world over."

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Professor K.C. Chan, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Invites New York's Financiers to Sample the ...

Halul Offshore secures QR220mn, 8-year ship financing from SMBC Halul Offshore Services Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Milaha (Qatar Navigation), has secured an eight-year $60mn (QR220mn) ship financing from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). The financing was arranged by Milaha Capital, another wholly-owned Milaha subsidiary which provides corporate finance advisory services to the group as part of its mandate. SMBC is acting as mandated lead arranger, facility agent, security agent and hedging bank. The financing agreement was signed by Sheikh Ali bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani, chairman and managing director of Milaha; and Phillippe Devos, CEO of SMBC Dohas QFC Office. The company will continue to expand its fleet capacity and with this facility, we will be in a stronger position to compete with other industry majors, Sheikh Ali said. Highlighting the commitment of SMBC group to supporting the Qatari shipping and offshore industries, Stanislas Roger, global head of shipping at SMBC, said, We look forward to continue working closely with Milaha on the financing of key investment projects. Ismail al-Emadi, executive vice president for offshore at Milaha said, Over the coming years, we intend to expand our offshore services segment in the region and beyond and this facility significantly enhances the ability to execute our strategy. Halul, which has strong capital expenditure plans for the coming years, is planning to acquire several new vessels including diving support vessels, anchor handling tugs, construction vessels and well-head maintenance/wireline support vessels.Halul acquired two vessels in 2010 and three in 2011 and early 2012. It is looking to add two more vessels to its fleet in 2012, a spokesman said.

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Halul Offshore secures QR220mn, 8-year ship financing from SMBC

Overseas investors are snapping up properties in Canada's largest cities, driving up prices and pushing ordinary Canadians out of the housing market, observers say.

Real estate experts call it the "new reality," and the high price paid for a north Toronto bungalow is the latest evidence.

This month, the three-bedroom bungalow, circa the 1960s and without much updating, sold for $421,800 over the asking price, creating a buzz among agents and other buyers.

Located in Willowdale, where similar detached houses typically sell for just short of $900,000, the bungalow at 300 Dudley Ave. was listed at $759,000.

The winning bid of $1,180,800 came from a university student whose parents live in China and own a business in San Francisco. There were four other bids of more than $1 million.

"The initial response was quite vociferous," said Michael Adelson, a Re/Max agent who represented the seller and received several phone calls about the deal after it was done.

"There's a lot of anger among Canadians who earn money here that they've been priced out of the market. There is some degree of anxiety about how people are going to compete with these hyper-inflated prices."

Adelson declined to discuss the specifics of the Willowdale deal, citing client confidentiality.

But CBC business commentator Michael Hlinka called the deal "outrageous and borderline bizarre."

The strong reaction to the price likely stems from how it changes the vision of affordability for average Canadians, he said.

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Offshore bids price Canadians out of housing market