While the Washington Post continues to lambast Hong Kong over its National Security Law (NSL), saying recent changes “will chill foreign investment”, the city still enjoys its high ranking in the World Competitive Yearbook (WCY) 2026, a survey undertaken by the International Institute for Management Development.
Hong Kong's global competitiveness has risen for the third consecutive year, up one place to second globally this year, the highest since 2019. It is second only to Singapore and two ranks above Taiwan. The US ranked 10th, 8 points behind Hong Kong.
Among the four competitiveness factors in the WCY 2026, Hong Kong ranks second globally in "government efficiency" and third in "business efficiency". Hong Kong ranks eighth and 11th globally in "infrastructure" and "economic performance" respectively. As regards the various competitiveness sub-factors, Hong Kong tops the rankings in "tax policy" and "business legislation"; ranks second globally in "finance"; third globally in "international trade", "international investment", "management practices" and "education"; and fourth globally in "public finance" and "basic infrastructure".
The Washington Post’s recent commentary on Hong Kong said, “the city’s hardline authorities are making the [NSL] law even more repressive for anyone caught in its net”, that Hong Kong had become “a less secure place to visit or do business” and that the changes “will further chill foreign investment”.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Hong Kong government said the commentary had exposed the newspaper’s “irrational anti-China stance” and amounted to “wanton slander” and “groundless allegations”.
It is time for the Post to face facts and respect the truth, including honest opinions expressed by its fellow countrymen who invest their money and do business in and with Hong Kong.
The government spokesperson said that, amid rapidly evolving geopolitical dynamics, Hong Kong, with its close connectivity to both the Chinese mainland and the world under the 'one country, two systems' principle, and its sound institutions, open markets and sustained investments in innovation, has become a 'value hub' that offers both security and growth opportunities. In fact, Hong Kong continues to excel in various international rankings including those for economy, finance, and talent.
The International Monetary Fund has also given positive recognition to Hong Kong in recent months, and major credit rating agencies have successively reaffirmed Hong Kong's credit ratings and 'stable' outlook. All these echo the WCY 2026 results.
Even the American Chamber of Commerce here ridiculed the Post by citing an AmCham survey showing increased confidence in the city’s business environment and rule of law.
Last year, Hong Kong knocked Switzerland off its perch for the top spot as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub while it reclaimed the global initial public offering (IPO) crown for the first time since 2019, with 114 listings raising HK$292 billion. And this year accounting giant Deloitte has estimated that Hong Kong's (IPO) market in the first half of this year had come in second globally, with 78 new listings raising around HK$203.3 billion still with half a year to go.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq claimed the crown for most IPOs after seeing 60 new listings raise HK$872.4 billion during the period, though Deloitte said the stand out performance by the US bourse was largely boosted by SpaceX which alone raised HK$675.8 billion. Without SpaceX's IPO, Hong Kong's stock exchange could have "narrowly surpassed" the Nasdaq to top the world.
The Post is hardly in a position to criticize Hong Kong and should clean up its own backyard before doing so. The troubled Post has been plagued with financial and staff problems in recent years. Staffers also became worried about the CEO and publisher William Lewis’ drinking and uninvolved role in the newsroom. The publisher continued to grapple with declining revenue and readership and sought strategies to regain subscribers lost during the Trump era. In January 2025, the Post announced it will lay off 4 per cent of its staff.
In February 2025, trillionaire wannbe and owner Jeff Bezos announced that the opinion section of the Post would publish only pieces that support "personal liberties and free markets". Within two days of the announcement, it was reported that more than 75,000 digital subscribers had canceled their subscriptions.
As an illustration of its editorial intrusions, the Post editorial board had drafted an endorsement for Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential elections, but it had been blocked by order of Bezos. The move was criticized by former executive editor Martin Baron, who considered it "disturbing spinelessness at an institution famed for courage", and suggested that Bezos was fearing retaliation from US President Donald Trump that could impact Bezos's other businesses.
The Post is “dying in darkness.”
Mark Pinkstone
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
The continued success of Hong Kong over the years can be attributed to one fact: it’s low and simple tax system. It has always been a major selling point to woo expatriate experts to Hong Kong to drive its financial and other services to be competitive with world markets.
US doomsday prophet Stephen Roach was quick to point out that thousands left Hong Kong during the COVID pandemic in 2020. But he has failed to mention the thousands that have returned since that dark period, which, according to US financial media giant Bloomberg, are responding to a booming initial public offering market, planned tax breaks for private equity and hedge funds, and a more vibrant city.
Bloomberg provided its financial clients worldwide with an in-depth feature on Hong Kong as it is today. Titled “Finance Expats Flock Back to Hong Kong Seeking Low Taxes, Better Jobs”, the 2,500-word article cited expatriates who had left and returned saying that although the cost of living in Hong Kong was relatively high, the tax relief outweighed these costs.
Hong Kong’s tax is simple. It is divided into three categories – individual, business and property owners. For individuals the standard tax rate is 15 per cent, for businesses, a two-tiered profits tax applies – 8.25 per cent of the first HK$2 million and 16.5 per cent thereafter – and property tax is 15 per cent of net assessable value. There is also an ad valorem stamp duty on property transactions ranging from $100 on property under $4 million to 4.25 per cent on property exceeding $27.39 million. Transactions exceeding $100 million hit a rate of 6.5 per cent duty.
There is no sales tax (save for tobacco and alcohol), VAT, withholding tax, capital gains tax, estate tax or dividend tax. The global average for sales tax is 13.7 per cent and the Asian average is 9.6 per cent.
Bloomberg noted that there were 31,278 employment visa approvals last year, more than double the number five years ago, with many going to nationals from Japan, South Korea and the UK. In financial services, some 2,343 visas issued to foreigners rose by 17 per cent last year to the highest since 2022.
While the sustainability of the influx may hinge on the strength of the IPO market, global financial firms including Bank of America and HSBC Holdings are among those signalling confidence in Hong Kong. Many new high-rise office blocks which saw low occupancy rates a few years ago are now reporting almost full capacity, another indicator of confidence in the business sector. Bloomberg said Hong Kong is aggressively promoting the city’s low taxes and comparative lack of red tape to the world’s ultra-rich business owners and money managers.
Hong Kong and Singapore rank third and fourth behind New York and London in the latest Global Financial Centres Index. Singapore’s tax rate is similar to Hong Kong (15 per cent for eexpatriates,4 per cent for director’s fees, and 17 per cent flat rate for corporations). A number of individuals and corporations fled to Singapore during the pandemic, but with Hong Kong fast becoming the financial hub of Asia, many are now returning, causing the Singapore Monetary Authority to entice investment firms to stay by cutting their taxes.
With neighbouring countries upping their incentives to woo the investment firms and experts, Hong Kong is keeping ahead of its competitors by eliminating the tax on hedge fund profits and plans to promote the development of Corporate Treasury Centres (CTCs). The tiered tax regime proposed is precisely designed to address the main points of the industry in a targeted manner, providing eligible corporations with more comprehensive tax benefits, greater tax certainty, and enhanced compliance flexibility. The government will also revamp the existing tax concession regime applicable to corporate treasury activities and introduce a more competitive tiered system. These measures include refining the existing concession regime and introducing a pre-approval mechanism. Pre-approved CTCs and their pre-approved associated companies will enjoy more favourable tax benefits, greater tax certainty and enhanced compliance flexibility.
These innovative, pragmatic, and competitive measures are expected to attract more multinational corporations from different regions and sectors to make full use of Hong Kong's role as a platform with the new catch phrase of 'bringing in and going global', and to bring their funds and core business to Hong Kong for centralized management, thereby strengthening Hong Kong's position as a major base for CTCs.
In June the government announced that with immediate effect, tax on the profits of hedge funds would be eliminated. By removing taxes on performance income, which are typically levied on profits generated from investment strategies, the city aims to create a more attractive environment for hedge fund operations. By eliminating the tax burden on performance income, Hong Kong is positioning itself as a favourable jurisdiction for hedge funds seeking to maximize their profitability. Industry experts predict that this policy change could lead to an influx of hedge funds relocating to Hong Kong, as fund managers look for jurisdictions that offer more favourable tax regimes.
Hong Kong’s long-standing policy of a low tax regime has been the magnet to draw the best of the best to its shores and invest in its future as a leading global financial centre.
