Global firms flood Hong Kong with 5,221 startups in 2025

Mainland China, the US, and Japan lead a wave of 11,070 non local companies

Hong Kong’s startup sector reached 5,221 companies in 2025, an 11 % increase compared with 2024, according to official survey results released on 26 January.

These startups employed 19,753 people, up 12 % year on year, and were active across financial technology, information and technology, biotechnology, education and learning, and health and medical services.

The total number of companies in Hong Kong with overseas or Mainland parent companies rose to 11,070, also an 11 % increase over 2024, with a workforce of approximately 509,000.

When analysed by parent-company location, Mainland China accounted for the largest share (3,090), followed by the United States and Japan (both 1,550), the United Kingdom (770) and Singapore (590).

At the 19th Asian Financial Forum on 26 January, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee connected these trends to the city’s competitiveness.

Lee also cited geographic diversity in inbound companies, noting that firms from Singapore, France, Australia, the United States and Switzerland had increased by more than 11 %.

Companies from ASEAN countries and the Middle East rose by about 10 % and 5 % respectively, and Mainland Chinese companies grew by about 17 %.

“We do more than bringing in companies – we are also good at nurturing them,” he said, describing the combined growth of startups and non-local firms.

Beyond counts of firms and jobs, data from the 2025 Annual Survey of Companies in Hong Kong with Parent Companies Located outside Hong Kong and the 2025 Startup Survey show shifts in business composition.

Among the non-local companies, the import/export trade, wholesale and retail sector had the largest number (about 5,100 firms), followed by financing and banking (around 2,390) and professional, business and education services (about 1,770).

The scale and trajectory of these figures mark continued growth from 2024, when Hong Kong reported 4,694 startups and 9,960 non-local parent companies which were both then record highs.

As the number of startup founders from outside Hong Kong remains significant, government surveys indicate that many come from markets including the United Kingdom, United States, France and across Asia, alongside Mainland China.

Lee indicated that the data is evidence of sustained economic confidence. “The encouraging results represent more than a vote of confidence in Hong Kong by these businesses and entrepreneurs,” he told forum attendees.

Lee added that the city’s legal framework, capital markets and regulatory environment contribute to its attractiveness for both established firms and early-stage companies.