Hong Kong has again been named the world’s freest economy in the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World report. A spokesman for the city’s government said of the 2025 edition that the findings confirm its strengths as a free-market economy with an open, efficient business environment and a level playing field.
He tied the result to what he described as intensifying geopolitical tension and rising protectionism. Hong Kong, he said, will hold to its free port status, free trade policies and a simple, low tax regime, and will keep capital, information, goods and talent moving freely.
The government’s figures
The statement came with numbers. Nearly 10,000 companies with overseas and mainland parent firms had a presence in Hong Kong as of last year, which the government called a historic high. Since the end of 2022, the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises has brought in more than 80 strategic enterprises.
In the first eight months of this year, Invest Hong Kong supported more than 440 enterprises setting up or expanding in the city. That is 14% more than a year earlier. Overseas and mainland firms each made up about half.
On talent, the various admission schemes drew nearly 530,000 applications from the end of 2022 to August. Over 350,000 were approved, and more than 230,000 people have arrived.
National security references in the report
The 2025 report refers to Hong Kong’s national security laws, and the spokesman answered directly. He said the government protects residents’ rights and freedoms under China’s Constitution and the Basic Law, and that the laws have restored a safe and stable environment. He also said Hong Kong keeps common law and a judiciary that acts independently, and cited surveys indicating foreign businesses there generally have strong confidence in the rule of law.
The government hopes that future Economic Freedom of the World assessments will “fully understand and accurately reflect the facts,” he said.
Looking ahead, the spokesman pointed to the Chief Executive’s Policy Address, delivered the week before. It set out plans to fast-track the Northern Metropolis, promote industries through reforms and speed up growth of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Sources
Sources
- Hong Kong once again ranks as the world's freest economy
- Hong Kong once again ranked as the world's freest economy
