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Q: How well positioned is Hong Kong to become a more relevant player in the global trade environment?
A: Hong Kong is currently experiencing a strong post-pandemic recovery, with government efforts from 2023 onward proving effective. This is supported by the recent World Competitiveness Yearbook, published by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Hong Kong improved its global ranking by two places, from fifth last year to third this year, returning to its 2019 pre-pandemic level.
The IMD report’s methodology combines hard figures, such as GDP, with executive surveys to gauge economic perceptions. Its four measures include economic performance, infrastructure, digital aspects, government efficiency, and business efficiency. Hong Kong achieved a total score of 99.2 out of 100, placing it very close to the top-ranked economies. This validates the country’s efforts, especially given the perceived restrictiveness of its pandemic lockdown. Beyond domestic improvements, Hong Kong has also organized many international mega-events, including sports, cultural, and business conferences, to showcase the city’s developments to visitors.
Q: What makes Mexico an attractive country to promote business opportunities with Hong Kong?
A: Mexico and Hong Kong signed an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) in 2020. This type of agreement provides strong backing and assurance of safety and security for companies entering a new market, which is particularly important for distant markets like Hong Kong and Mexico, especially as they are not connected through a direct flight. This is the fourth IPPA signed by Hong Kong’s current government, demonstrating its proactive approach in securing such agreements with overseas countries.
Hong Kong is actively attracting new opportunities. For instance, the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem is vast, encompassing upstream elements such as battery and new material production, electronics, and infrastructure such as charging and battery swapping stations. EVs are increasingly seen as mobile electronic devices, featuring extensive electronics, AI technology for autonomous driving, and automotive chips and semiconductors. These advances generate strong knock-on effects across the industry. Many Chinese companies are currently establishing operations in Mexico to access the US market, and a significant number of these companies maintain their regional and overseas headquarters in Hong Kong. This creates natural opportunities for collaboration.
Q: The InvestHK agenda is strongly focused on high-growth sectors like new energy, urban mobility, and advanced logistics. From InvestHK’s perspective, which of these sectors are most likely to create immediate business synergies between Mexico and Hong Kong, and which do you see as more of a long-term development?
A: Logistics and supply chain management offer immediate opportunities, as the necessary infrastructure, like planes and ships, is already in place. The focus is on effective management.
Trade between Mexico and Hong Kong is very strong; Mexico is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner in Latin America. Globally, Mexico ranks as Hong Kong’s 22nd trading partner, while Hong Kong is Mexico’s 32nd. This indicates a substantial existing connection that requires effective trade management.
The current trade tariff issues and nearshoring trends are making global supply chains less efficient. The traditional hub-and-spoke model, which prioritized efficiency regardless of location, is now breaking into smaller, less efficient supply chains due to nearshoring. This creates a need for enhanced supply chain and logistics management.
An evolving landscape requires greater collaboration between the Mexican and Hong Kong supply chain and logistics industries. With more mainland Chinese companies establishing manufacturing in Mexico to access the US market, they will need their supply chains. Hong Kong, being part of China and globally well-connected, serves as a crucial backbone for supply chains. We possess the experience and expertise to manage highly complex global supply chains. This is particularly vital when supply chains become inefficient, as effective management can mitigate financial losses.
The importance of supply chain management is higher than ever. Supply chain financing is an area where Hong Kong is also very strong. Furthermore, managing global contracts and disputes, whether in court, by arbitration, or mediation, requires a robust legal system and platform. Mediation is gaining importance, as arbitration, initially cheaper, has become less cost-effective over time. Hong Kong has responded by establishing the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed), initiated by Beijing in 2022, with its global headquarters set up in May 2026, and already counting 20 member countries. This will be a mediation platform that countries and companies can make use of for any kind of dispute.
Q: How can synergy be found between Mexico’s nearshoring ambitions and InvestHK’s goals?
A: The feasibility of nearshoring depends significantly on a product’s complexity. While simpler products allow for regional sourcing, complex products, such as EVs or semiconductors, still need global sourcing due to their extensive component requirements.
Hong Kong is crucial in managing these intricate global supply chains, especially as nearshoring trends contribute to inefficiencies by breaking down traditional global networks. This is particularly relevant in the EV sector, where China’s strong market presence leads to increasing interactions between Mainland China and Mexico, bringing associated cultural and time differences. With decades of experience in international trade and supply chain management, Hong Kong is well-positioned to bridge these complexities.
Hong Kong also serves as an ideal gateway for Mexican companies interested in the broader Asian market. While China is a major market, Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, presents a very strong and developing market segment. Strategically located between North Asia, which includes China, Japan, Korea, and South Asia, Hong Kong’s international business-friendly environment and high global competitiveness ranking make it the perfect entry point. Collectively, these advantages enable Hong Kong to support Mexican businesses in expanding internationally, particularly within Asia.
Q: What is the most pressing challenge to solve to further enhance Mexico-Hong Kong’s ties?
A: Distance is a challenge in the Mexico-Hong Kong relationship. A direct flight can immediately foster trade, tourism, and cultural exchanges, making engagement more comfortable and easier. More business and cultural exchanges are needed to bridge this distance.
There is a new direct flight between Mexico City and Shenzhen. While its frequency is currently low, it presents a chicken-and-egg scenario: sufficient interest, especially from businesses, will lead airlines to add more flights despite the cost of long routes. Shenzhen is very close to Hong Kong, with convenient land access by train. Therefore, this direct flight to Shenzhen serves almost as a direct connection to Hong Kong, facilitating travel around the greater area. This flight helps resolve the current distance challenge. As interest grows, airlines will certainly increase flight frequencies.
Q: What are the sectors that have shown the highest growth and interest among companies looking to set up in Hong Kong?
A: Hong Kong’s strengths lie in two key sectors. Financial services are particularly robust and uniquely strong in Asia, with Hong Kong consistently ranking among the top international financial centers globally, alongside New York and London. The technology sector is another priority, recognized for its underlying role in economic development. We are actively promoting four technology areas: AI, biomedical, fintech, and new energy. AI is a foundational technology., while biomedical is a prominent field, especially post-pandemic, with AI-driven drug discovery and radiotherapy showing strong growth. The aging economy, or Silver Head economy, is another related area. Hong Kong has a very large financial services market for fintech applications. Lastly, the need for new energy is universally acknowledged.
The Hong Kong government provides substantial subsidies for technology R&D. For instance, projects collaborating with universities can receive up to HK$100 million (US$12 million) in funding. For companies setting up advanced manufacturing in Hong Kong, the subsidy can reach HK$200 million per production line. Over the past decade, the Hong Kong government has invested HK$20 billion in technology sector infrastructure and subsidies. Furthermore, we collaborate with Shenzhen in the Greater Bay Area, notably through the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park (HSITP), which has a reciprocal park on the Shenzhen side, forming a technology cooperation zone with strong R&D synergy. While Shenzhen leverages this synergy for R&D, Hong Kong offers stronger international market financing and investment capabilities.
Q: Your visit highlights Hong Kong’s role as a “super-connector” to Mainland China and Asia. Beyond its location, what key performance indicators (KPIs) will determine its success?
A: Our approach to attracting investment is like planting seeds, recognizing that investment decisions require time. Our goal is to encourage companies to consider Asia, and then Hong Kong, for their business. We provide support by answering any questions they may have via email or online meetings.
Our core mission is to bring investments and business to Hong Kong. Our offices welcome inquiries from companies in any sector. Some companies may initially be interested in trade rather than direct investment, which is also a valid starting point. For such trade matters, we can refer them to the Trade Development Council (TDC), a statutory body under the Hong Kong government.
Our success is assessed by three main metrics: the number of companies establishing operations or expanding in Hong Kong, the total investment amount, and the employment generated. While Hong Kong does not expect to have huge mega-factories employing thousands, we evaluate the overall composition across these three measures.
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) is the investment promotion agency for the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The agency aims to facilitate and promote investment opportunities involving Hong Kong actors. 
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