Hong Kong logged a record 41 percent increase in the number of foreign direct investments in 2024, reflecting its strong appeal as leading business hub in the region, the city’s investment promotion agency said on Monday.
Invest Hong Kong said in a statement that it assisted 539 overseas and Chinese mainland companies to set up or expand their business in the special administrative region, represents a 41 percent increase compared to 2023.
Their total investment brought in HK$67.7 billion ($8.69 billion), also a record high and a nearly 10 percent rise compared to the previous year.
Director-General of Investment Promotion Alpha Lau Hai-suen
“The number of companies we assisted and the amount of direct investment they brought to Hong Kong both hit record highs despite a complex and ever-changing global economic environment,” Lau said.
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“It demonstrates Hong Kong's resilience and adaptability and businesses' strong confidence in the city as the preferred base to expand in the region,” she added.
The investors are expected to create 6,864 job opportunities in the city during their first year of operation, an over 67 percent year-on-year increase, it added.
InvestHK said 273 investors came from the mainland, 52 from the United States, 24 from France, 24 from the United Kingdom, and 23 from Singapore.
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They included 120 companies in the innovation and technology sector, 110 from financial services and fintech, 95 family offices, 58 in tourism and hospitality, and 47 from business and professional services.
InvestHK also noted that the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme received more than 800 applications by the end of 2024 since its launch last March and which will bring in around HK$24 billion in investments to the city.
With enhancements to the program set to take effect in March this year, this number is expected to further increase.
“We will strategically introduce emerging industries from traditional markets, supporting Hong Kong's development in new competitive sectors like cultural and creative industries, and technology,” Lau said.
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“And we will explore emerging markets and strengthen our promotional efforts in places along the Belt and Road, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economies and Eastern Europe, to assist local companies to expand their regional operations via Hong Kong," she added.
