Doing Business in & through Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city, well known for its business-friendly environment, rule of law, free trade and free flow of information, open and fair competition, well-established and comprehensive financial networks, superb transport and communications infrastructure, sophisticated support services, and a flexible labour market with a well-educated and highly motivated workforce. Hong Kong has a fully convertible and stable currency, and a simple, low-tax system.
Hong Kong is the natural gateway for trade and investment in Mainland China. With its international outlook and its status as the region's premier business hub, Hong Kong serves as an ideal base for international businesses looking to tap the vast opportunities in China and other parts of Asia.
Hong Kong signed a unique free trade agreement with Mainland China, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), in 2003. It is an open and developing free trade agreement. Adopting a building block approach, the Mainland and Hong Kong have continuously expanding the scope and content of CEPA over the years. It covers four broad areas: (1) Trade in Goods, (2) Trade in Services, (3) Investment, and (4) Economic and Technical Cooperation. Because CEPA rules are nationality-neutral, companies from around the world can enjoy the same benefits as local Hong Kong firms if they set up business in Hong Kong or partner with Hong Kong companies to fulfil the CEPA rules.
Overseas entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises and multinationals, who are considering to set up an office or expand their existing business in Hong Kong, are welcome to approach InvestHK — a government department which offers free advice and services to support companies from the planning stage right through to the launch and expansion of their business.
More information about doing business in Hong Kong can be found here.
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Covering Hong Kong, Macao, and nine major cities in Guangdong Province, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development is accorded the status of key strategic planning in China’s development blueprint, having great significance in the country’s implementation of innovation-driven development and commitment to reform and opening-up.
Being the most open and international city in the GBA, Hong Kong is known for its status as the international financial, transportation, trade and aviation hub as well as its renowned professional services, and hence is the ideal springboard between the GBA and the rest of the world for overseas businesses. The Government, together with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, has launched a few websites to provide overseas businesses with a handy reference for the latest facilitation measures and supporting policies, business network and contacts, activities and training, case studies, etc. in relation to the GBA development.
For more information
・Overview, facilitation measures and supporting policies
・Investment landscape and case studies
・Trade-related information
Trade relations between Hong Kong and Japan
Hong Kong and Japan enjoy a close trading relationship. In 2022, Japan was Hong Kong's 6th largest trading partner. Reciprocally, Hong Kong was Japan's 13th ranking trading partner in 2022.
Hong Kong has been one of the largest overseas markets for Japan’s food and agricultural products since 2007. In 2023, we imported from Japan some 237 billion yen worth of such products, which was about a quarter of all such exports from Japan to the world.
In 2023, of the some 9,000 companies in Hong Kong representing parent companies located outside Hong Kong, about 1,400 are set up by the Japanese companies, making up the largest group of overseas companies.
More information about the trade relations between Hong Kong and Japan can be found here.