Hong Kong SAR

Hong Kong Overview

With its limited natural resources, Hong Kong depends on imports for virtually all of its requirements, including raw materials, food and other consumer goods, capital goods, and fuel. Under its unique status as an international free port, entrepôt trade, mainly with China, flourished until 1951, when a United Nations embargo on trade with China and North Korea drastically curtailed it. This situation, combined with the need to export and with the availability of cheap labour, led to the establishment of competitive light industries and a transformation of the economy in the early 1960s. The market economy and the laissez-faire policy of the British colonial government provided flexibility for further industrialization and the incentive and freedom, from the late 1960s, to attract foreign investment and financial transactions. In succeeding years, with China adopting a more open foreign policy, entrepôt trade rapidly revived, while Hong Kong–China trade surged. Hong Kong developed not only in manufacturing, trade, and shipping but also as a regional financial centre and as an agent in China’s pursuit of modernization. The tertiary (services) sector of the economy now makes up some four-fifths of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Source: britannica.com

Landscape and growth

Global State of the Market Report

In 2022, the Advisory Board Centre mapped professionals currently serving on Advisory Boards. This assessment identified over 4,500 professionals on Advisory Boards in Hong Kong.

Advisory Board Landscape

The assessment has identified low numbers of Advisory Board professionals in Hong Kong. Minimal participation in the market may indicate:

  • That Advisory Board structures engaged in the country are informal in nature;
  • Advisory Boards are referred as a different name, such as committees, councils or think tanks;
  • Traditional sourcing of advice is more customary for Hong Kong’s current business environment; or
  • There is a language barrier stemming from the search for Advisory Board professionals being in English.

Future Growth Opportunities

As an emerging sector in Hong Kong, connection and collaboration with the global Advisor community will present strong future growth opportunities. Further, focusing on key market sectors – financial services, tourism and logistics – as well as acknowledging start-up and emerging industries are essential. It will also be important for Advisory Board professionals in market to be credentialed to best practice and ethics as this sector grows over time.

Key Statistics

Population 7.66m
GDP $369,176 USD million
Labour Force by occupation
Agriculture0.17%
Industry11%
Services89%
GDP by sector
Agriculture0.10%
Industry6.3%
Services93.6%
Import $733,550 USD million
Export $751,363 USD million
Global ease of doing business rank 5th
Global ease of doing business score 83.44/100