Many companies are eager to expand and hire staff next year as they predict their revenues will grow with Hong Kong’s healthier economic outlook and business confidence, according to a survey by CPA Australia.

The Hong Kong Economic and Business Sentiment Survey 2025 collected 568 responses from Hong Kong-based executives, accounting and finance professionals during October and November.

Surveyed executives and accounting professionals showed a relatively optimistic outlook for Hong Kong, with 63 percent anticipating the local economy will grow next year.

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With a backdrop of an improving business environment, the surveyed respondents said their companies will increase investment in advanced technologies (38 percent), sales and marketing (37 percent), and overseas expansion (36 percent). Another 57 percent of interviewees expected headcount to increase, the highest new hiring intention since 2020.

“The more positive business environment is being reflected in an expected shift in corporate strategy away from defensive strategies such as cost management and improving business efficiency towards more expansionary strategies such as market expansion and innovation,” CPA Australia 2024 Greater China Divisional President Cliff Ip explained.

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Ip added that recent stimulus measures unveiled by the central government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government have improved market sentiment while the start of the rate-cutting cycle has boosted business confidence.

Fifty-six percent of the surveyed respondents rated Hong Kong’s international competitiveness as high, while 31 percent ranked the city’s tax system as the largest positive contributor to the city’s economic and business environment in 2025.

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But external uncertainties still weigh on the tourism and retail sector. “Companies hence must keep innovating their products and services, and how they deliver them. They also need to frequently engage with customers and potential customers to better understand trends both in Hong Kong and elsewhere,” Ip suggested.

The survey cited changes in consumer patterns (26 percent) and tension in US-China relations (26 percent) as the two biggest challenges.