Hong Kong’s foreign and mainland Chinese companies soared by 11 per cent to a record 11,070 last year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu revealed on Monday.
Speaking at the 19th Asian Financial Forum, Lee hailed the city’s “unprecedented achievements” in attracting “quality businesses” while unveiling a landmark pact with Shanghai to turn Hong Kong into a gold trading hub, which analysts and traders hailed as a game-changer.
Lee cited the government’s latest annual survey showing foreign and mainland-affiliated firms with overseas parents reached 11,070 in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 11 per cent.
“The encouraging results represent more than a vote of confidence in Hong Kong by these businesses and entrepreneurs,” the city leader said at the forum’s opening.
“They also mean our solid efforts in facilitating business establishment and operation, and in creating an enabling ecosystem for start-ups, are bearing fruit.”
The number of foreign firms from Singapore, France, Australia, the United States and Switzerland in Hong Kong rose by more than 11 per cent, while those from Asean nations and the Middle East rose by about 10 and 5 per cent.
The number of mainland companies, meanwhile, jumped by 17 per cent, with enterprises from around the world now employing nearly 510,000 people in the city, up by 3 per cent from two years ago.
Lee added that the number of start-ups in Hong Kong also grew by 11 per cent from 2024 to 5,200, setting another record.
“Our start-ups hired nearly 20,000 people in Hong Kong, that is a 12 per cent growth year on year,” he said, adding that half of the non-local entrepreneurs came from the mainland, with the rest mainly from the United Kingdom, the United States, France and various Asian countries.
At the same forum, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau signed a pact with the Shanghai Gold Exchange to build a gold trading ecosystem, including a cross-border clearing platform.
The deal establishes high-level governance for the city government-owned Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company, chaired by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, with a Shanghai Gold Exchange representative as deputy chairman to advise on system design and rules.
Both cities will explore applying the Shanghai Gold Exchange’s physical warehousing system to offer secure gold management for Hong Kong and global participants, boosting links between on- and off-exchange trading.
The system is on track to begin trial operations this year.
Hui said the deal “represents a resolute commitment to advancing the synergistic development of Hong Kong and Shanghai as [pioneering] international financial and gold markets”.
“It reflects our joint determination to deepen integration and [leverage] the complementary strengths of Hong Kong [and] Shanghai, so that together we can expand our shared influence in the global gold market and also better support renminbi internationalisation,” he added.
Hong Kong aims to expand its gold storage capacity to more than 2,000 tonnes within three years by supporting the Airport Authority and financial institutions.
The administration also plans to introduce legislative proposals in the first half of this year to include precious metals as qualifying investments for fund and family office preferential tax regimes.
A new gold fund offering physical redemption would also list in Hong Kong this week, Hui said.
The signing of the gold agreement was witnessed by Lee, People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Zou Lan, Shanghai Executive Vice-Mayor Wu Wei and Zhou Xiaoquan, executive deputy director of the Office of the Financial Commission of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee.
Analysts and traders believe the accord will allow Hong Kong and Shanghai to create a gold trading and clearing hub in Asia.
Currently, global gold trading and clearing centres are based in New York and London, with no Asian city holding comparable status, said Tom Chan Pak-lam, the permanent honorary president of the Institute of Securities Dealers.
The deal was an “important step forward for the city to develop as a leading gold market in Asia”, he said.
“For Hong Kong to become a leading gold trading hub, the city needs to establish a robust clearing mechanism, along with storage facilities, logistics support and innovative gold products,” he said.
“Hong Kong alone may not be able to accomplish all this, but a partnership with the Shanghai Gold Exchange could make it possible.”
He said that although most gold trading was currently conducted in US dollars, international transactions might gradually diversify into yuan as the currency continued to internationalise.
Establishing a central gold clearing system in Hong Kong was one of the key initiatives outlined in the chief executive’s policy address last October, in which he pledged to accelerate the city’s development into an international trading hub for the precious metal.
China’s 15th five-year plan, covering 2026 to 2030, includes a goal of advancing the development of commodities trading.
Wilson Chan Fung-cheung, an adjunct professor at City University and a former veteran banker, pointed out that Shanghai was home to the only gold trading bourse on the mainland.
“If Hong Kong develops any gold trading or clearing facilities, the Shanghai Gold Exchange is likely to be our largest customer,” he said.
The Hong Kong Gold Exchange was established last year to replace the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society, which was founded in 1910 and specialised in trading local gold in taels for the jewellery industry and investors.
Brian Fung Wei-lung, the exchange’s CEO, said the time was ripe to strengthen gold trading infrastructure, as prices were expected to keep rising amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
Gold has remained a highly sought-after asset. The precious metal soared above US$5,100 an ounce on Monday to a record high, extending a historic rally.
Spot gold traded as high as US$5,111.07 an ounce, up more than 18 per cent this year, following a 64.6 per cent surge in 2025.
In a separate session at the forum, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po highlighted Hong Kong’s robust fundraising pipeline, revealing that more than 400 companies were currently lining up for initial public offerings.
Chan also said Hong Kong was working with South Korea on mutual exchange-traded fund listings, building on similar ties established with Saudi Arabia.
Jose Manuel Barroso, former president of the European Commission, was present at the same session as Chan and offered his take on the current geopolitical climate.
He described United States President Donald Trump’s second term as a “big disruptor” that had “changed the grammar of politics”, stressing that Europeans opposed the “weaponisation of tariffs”. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
