The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is witnessing an unprecedented surge in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment. According to the annual survey conducted by CPA Australia, 68% of respondents reported positive business momentum in 2025 — the strongest performance in a decade.
2026 Outlook: Historic Confidence Highs
Business sentiment remains robust in the medium term. The survey revealed record expectations: 71% of SME representatives plan to scale operations in 2026, while 76% forecast accelerated economic growth for Hong Kong itself. These figures represent the highest levels ever recorded in the history of this study.
Three Pillars of Success for Hong Kong SMEs
Experts identified key factors driving sustainable growth:
• Financial stability. Hong Kong ranked first among all surveyed markets on this metric, demonstrating exemplary capital and reserve management.
• Technology investments. 64% of enterprises attribute profitability gains to digital infrastructure spending. Artificial intelligence receives particular focus: 40% of local entrepreneurs are already allocating resources to AI-based solutions.
• Cybersecurity strengthening. Notable progress has been made in digital hygiene: the share of companies suffering losses from cyber incidents dropped from 72% to 43% in 2025.
Challenges Requiring Attention
Despite the overall positive outlook, respondents highlighted two systemic issues:
→ Rising labour costs. For 42% of companies, increased payroll expenses became the primary operational challenge (up from 35% a year earlier).
→ Cyber risks. Information security threats continue to concern nearly 60% of survey participants — significantly above the sample average of 42%.
Hong Kong’s SME sector is entering a phase of confident post-crisis recovery, underpinned by financial discipline and accelerated digitalisation. Record business optimism for 2026 reflects high entrepreneur confidence in the SAR’s economic policy. Meanwhile, the ability to effectively mitigate workforce and technological risks will be key to sustaining and accelerating current growth momentum.
