Paul Chan highlights Hong Kong’s unique edge - AustCham Chair notes the city's unrivaled features
Hong Kong unveils first comprehensive report in four years on city’s overall business environment to attract investors
Hong Kong will achieve new economic breakthroughs despite a “complicated and volatile” external environment, the finance chief has said while unveiling the government’s first business report in four years to attract investors.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday that the city was in the midst of transformation and upgrading, but warned that some traditional industries would struggle more than others.
Overseas misperceptions about Hong Kong had prompted the government to detail the city’s latest economic situation in the report, which is accessible online to investors abroad.
“With a complicated and volatile external environment, Hong Kong is undergoing economic upgrading and transformation, but we see more opportunities than challenges,” Chan said.
“As long as we seek and embrace changes proactively, we will surely achieve new breakthroughs, develop new growth points, and create a new chapter for Hong Kong.”
He also said that the 102-page report, titled “Unique Strengths under ‘One Country, Two Systems’”, clearly and systematically showed the world that the development of Hong Kong had been picking up in recent years as social stability had been restored.
The report cited Chinese President Xi Jinping’s backing of Hong Kong’s one country, two systems governing principle, which it called a cornerstone of the city’s long-term prosperity and stability, as well as a pillar supporting further development.
It also highlighted recent investments as part of efforts to build up the city’s innovation and technology ecosystem, as well as emerging opportunities in artificial intelligence, green finance and Web3.
The report also pointed to Hong Kong’s well-established edge as a free port and free economy.
Asked whether he was worried about the effects of tariffs on Hong Kong’s business environment, finance chief Paul Chan replied that the direct impacts would be “minimal”. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Chan said that over the last few years, many overseas visitors had not had the opportunity to come to Hong Kong and that there were misperceptions about the city’s situation due to geopolitics.
“We are trying very hard to reach out to the international community to share with them what is really happening on the ground in Hong Kong by sharing some facts and data,” he said.
Authorities have been striving to revive the city’s economy and restore business confidence after a tumultuous period marked by political changes and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government last issued a business report in 2021 when the city was emerging from the 2019 anti-government protests and the enactment of the national security law the following year.
The city has this year once again found itself caught in the geopolitical headwinds of a trade war between the United States and China following Donald Trump’s re-election as US president.
The government has taken great strides to offset the effects of the geopolitical tensions, investing billions of Hong Kong dollars into strategic industries and developments while seeking to diversify the economy and forge partnerships with Asean and Middle Eastern markets.
Chan also noted on Wednesday that the government had received about 500,000 applications under its various talent admission schemes, with around 220,000 successful candidates arriving in the city.
The daily turnover on the stock market in the first half of the year was up by 120 per cent to about HK$240 billion (US$30.6 billion), he said.
Chan said the city’s 52 initial public offerings in the first seven months raised HK$130 billion, a sixfold increase from the same period last year.
Authorities have been striving to revive the city’s economy and restore business confidence after a tumultuous period marked by political changes and the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Eugene Lee
Chan said InvestHK had helped 1,300 mainland Chinese and overseas enterprises to set up or expand their operations in the city between January 2023 and the first half of 2025, bringing in more than HK$160 billion in investment.
Asked whether he was worried about the impact of US tariffs on the local business environment, Chan said the direct effects would be “minimal”, given Hong Kong had a service-oriented economy.
But the indirect effects could be more significant due to the city’s role as a re-export hub for mainland products, he said.
But Chan added that it was important not to “underestimate” the opportunities the current geopolitical environment had brought to the city.
It was increasingly difficult for mainland companies to list in the US, with Hong Kong able to offer them a platform for accessing international and mainland capital, he said.
Earlier this month, a delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong visited Washington, holding meetings with government officials and politicians.
In March, a delegation from the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong met Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, in Beijing.
During the meeting, Xia underscored the central government’s determination to maintain the city’s “free and open” business environment.
Discussing the report, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said Hong Kong’s rule of law had contributed to the excellent business environment as the city was a recognised hub for international legal and dispute resolution services.
Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng, chairman of the Financial Services Development Council, said the city could leverage its unique role as a two-way platform to attract foreign investment while facilitating global expansion, connecting China with international supply chains and positioning itself as a Global South-facing regional treasury centre.
Hong Kong Tourism Board chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok said the body would build on the “positive momentum” by launching various promotional campaigns to attract more visitors to the city and reinforce its image.
Agnes Chan Sui-kuen, chairwoman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, said: “Confidence-building measures and engaging with businesspeople from around the world are essential to reinforce our status as a trusted global hub.”
She added that the chamber would continue to “spell out” the many benefits that the city could provide to international businesses in its meetings with incoming delegations and overseas connections.
Josephine Orgill, chair of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said no other regional centre could rival the combination of features the city offered.
“For any company that wants to access China ... there is no question that it must be via Hong Kong and the more this message is widely understood and the more people come here to see that and that it works, the better,” she said.
Our Hong Kong Foundation vice-president Kenny Shui said the report had played a positive role in “telling Hong Kong’s story well” and enhancing international confidence in the city.
The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said that the report would help strengthen domestic and international investment confidence in the city and consolidate its status as a global finance hub.