Negotiations over US President Trump’s tariffs are now closed and will take effect on August 7. His plan was to raise tariffs so that manufacturing and businesses would return to the US. But they haven’t.
In fact, as far as Hong Kong is concerned, it is coming out as the winner in this so-called trade war.
Without any rhyme or reason, Trump has introduced new tariffs across the board, ranging from 10 per cent for UK, Australia and Chile to 50 per cent for Brazil, 39 per cent for Switzerland and 34 per cent for China (including Hong Kong).
Trump has totally ignored Hong Kong’s independent membership to the World Trade Organisation and lumped the city with China proper, which had a US$992 billion surplus with the US while Hong Kong is being penalised for having a US$22 billion deficit.
As more evidence is surfacing of a negative reaction in the US to Trump’s tariffs, Hong Kong is showing the opposite.
The Institute for Supply Management in the US said manufacturing employment index dropped to 43.4, its lowest level since July 2020. This marks a significant slowdown in hiring as companies face rising raw material costs, partly driven by tariffs imposed by Trump.
The US Commerce Department data released on last week showed prices for home furnishings and durable household equipment jumped 1.3 per cent in June, the biggest gain since March 2022.
But in Hong Kong direct imports of fruit from the US to Hong Kong soared 118 per cent in value in April as suppliers diverted their stock from the mainland where they faced higher taxes. A 5 kg carton of US cherries that fetched a wholesale price of HK$400 last July is now being sold for between $260 and $280, a drop of up to 35 per cent.
The release last week of the “Hong Kong Business Environment Report: One Country, Two Systems Unique Advantages” has undoubtedly brought a strong shot to Hong Kong society, domestic and foreign investors.
The report provides all sectors of the community and Mainland and overseas investors with details on Hong Kong's latest developments and strengths, comprehensively showcasing Hong Kong's open, safe, stable, efficient and internationalized business environment.
The report highlights that the Government has achieved remarkable results in attracting enterprises, investment and talent. Last year, the number of companies in Hong Kong with parent companies located outside the territory significantly increased by about 10 per cent, reaching nearly 10,000, while the number of start-ups reached nearly 4,700, both reaching record highs. The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises in Hong Kong has attracted 84 strategic enterprises to set up or expand their business in Hong Kong, including enterprises with a market capitalization or valuation exceeding $10 billion and engaged in cutting-edge technologies. From January 2023 to the first six months of 2025, Invest Hong Kong assisted more than 1 300 overseas and mainland companies to set up or expand their business in Hong Kong, bringing in investment of more than $160 billion.
In terms of talent, as of June 2025, about 500 000 applications under various talent admission schemes were received, nearly 330 000 of which were approved, and nearly 220 000 talents have arrived in Hong Kong.
Foreign businesses still maintain high confidence in Hong Kong. A report by the American Chamber of Commerce indicated that 75 per cent of enterprises it interviewed, identified with Hong Kong as Asia’s most competitive international business and 79 per cent indicated they had no intention of moving their headquarters out of Hong Kong.
As a spin-off of the business report, the government has produced a 100-page booklet for potential investors. It positions Hong Kong as a super connector between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world and highlights Hong Kong’s robust legal and financial systems.
It explains everything anyone would want to know about moving to Hong Kong and the opportunities it offers. Investing in Hong Kong is akin to walking into a store and everything there is before you.
Mark Pinkstone
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
As Hong Kong has been developing in leaps and bounds, so has its medical services increased to meet local demands.
And with planned new hospitals in the Northern Metropolis along with current expansion and construction development, expertise is expected to increase and the dreaded waiting times for patients will be considerably reduced.
Hong Kong is poised to be the medical centre of Asia.
Currently, Hong Kong has about 36,000 beds in 43 public hospitals and 14 private hospitals. And already they are overcrowded, aided undoubtedly by an increasing aging population. Patients have to wait up to two hours for a consultation in public hospitals and up to a year or more for onward specialised bookings for appointment.
But that is about to change. Opening on December 11 in Tseung Kwan O will be the 400-bed Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong run by the Baptist University under the umbrella of the Health Bureau of the government and not to be confused with the Hospital Authority which runs all public hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong.
This is a major breakthrough for Chinese medicine (CM) to be fully integrated with research into western-Chinese medicines while serving the community. It will be the flagship for the 18 Chinese medicine clinics already operating in all districts in Hong Kong.
In its first year of operation, it will provide only outpatient 25 beds and day-patient services and six specialised CM services – internal medicine, external medicine, gynaecology, paediatrics, orthopaedics and traumatology, and acupuncture and moxibustion. It will also provide 12 special disease programs including those for elderly degenerative diseases and stroke rehabilitation.
Inpatient services will start from late next year, with other services expanding year by year, including the remaining 11 special disease programs. It is expected that by the end of 2030, the hospital will provide full inpatient services with its 400 patient beds, as well as outpatient services of 400 000 annual attendances.
Construction is also well underway and above the foundations for the North District Hospital (NDH) extension in Sheung Shui. The expansion of NDH mainly covers the construction of a new hospital block, refurbishment, alteration and addition to existing hospital building, and the provision of associated internal roadworks as well as external and landscaping works. Upon completion of the expansion project in about 2028, the hospital will provide about 1,500 additional beds, atop of its 680 existing beds.
And then comes the mother of all hospitals: The Northern Metropolis Hospital in Ngau Tam Mei, south of Yuen Long, is developing a new integrated medical teaching and research hospital which will become the flagship hospital of the Northern Metropolis with about 3 000 beds, providing comprehensive healthcare services for the new population in the area.
Last year in his policy address, the Chief Executive John Lee announced plans for developing a new integrated medical teaching and research hospital which will become the flagship hospital of the Northern Metropolis, providing comprehensive healthcare services.
The area is a goldmine for development. Representing about one third of Hong Kong’s total land area, existing agricultural land and fishponds will be turned into a massive hub for international scientific and technical research and development.
In the First Hospital Development Plan, there are three projects in two clusters, including the expansion of North District Hospital, the redevelopment of Prince of Wales Hospital, and the extension of Operating Theatre Block for Tuen Mun Hospital. It is anticipated that a total of 1 950 additional beds and other hospital facilities will be provided by 2031 in the New Territories after the completion of the three projects, bringing the physical bed capacity in the east and west clusters in the New Territories to about 12 000 beds.
Most importantly on the backburner is a decision by the Chief Executive in Council (ExCo) last year that a site of about two hectares be reserved in the San Tin Technopole (between Yuen Long and Sheung Shui) for healthcare facilities “which may include private hospital use.”
A private hospital in the New Territories opens up many possibilities, including medical tourism.
The Chinese medical hospital will draw in many tourists from the mainland and Asia seeking medical help through traditional Chinese and western medicine methods. A tourism hospital situated along the Chinese boundary will boost tourism figures ten-fold.
A case in point is the Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a classic example of how the private sector can benefit in healthcare. Founded in 1980, Bumrungrad International Hospital has been a global pioneer in providing world-class healthcare services and international patient support for nearly four decades. The hospital is an internationally accredited, multi-specialty hospital listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand since 1989. It is, perhaps the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia, caring for more than 1.1 million patients annually from more than 190 countries.
