Retail businesses seeking to expand their e-commerce operations in the Asia-Pacific region, look no further than Hong Kong.
If you are already sourcing products in Asia, opening an e-commerce presence in Hong Kong would be even more beneficial to establishing your brand. Top brands like Nike, Adidas, Zara, H&M, Uniqlo and Procter & Gamble and many others are among more than 4,000 international companies in the retail and wholesale space getting out in front of the Hong Kong consumer and taking advantage of the opportunities that the market has to offer.
Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) teamed with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on a joint report that details the special administrative region’s digital evolution in consumer products and the opportunities that can be explored in the region.
Hong Kong’s retail market benefits from the city’s free port status, proximity to manufacturers around the region and zero custom duties on most imports and exports, all of which can simplify business processes and reducing costs. As a result, retailers and brands see Hong Kong as a crucial location for both physical stores and other important functions such as e-commerce, trading, sourcing, warehousing and finance.
Operating as a free port, Hong Kong includes a free trade policy where no tariff is levied on the import or export of nearly all goods. The only excise duties levied are on liqueurs, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol. Together with zero value-added tax, goods and services tax and sales tax, Hong Kong offers an unparalleled e-commerce environment for brands to serve consumers in Hong Kong and the region.
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Hong Kong doesn’t just serve as a bridge to Mainland China—it also has a strong and efficient logistics network with other major Asia Pacific markets in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, with Hong Kong International Airport having been the world’s busiest international cargo airport since 1996.
According to the InvestHK report, the e-commerce market size in Hong Kong is still rapidly growing, with online spending expected to soar from 66 billion Hong Kong dollars ($8.5 billion) in 2022 to 91 billion Hong Kong dollars ($11.7 billion) in 2025. Hong Kong is one of the easiest places to start a business, in addition to being home to the second highest online spenders within Asia Pacific.
Access the joint report from InvestHK and PwC here.
Contact the InvestHK team at cp@investhk.gov.hk