Hong Kong Business Confidence Highest in 3 Years

2026-10-16 08:44 By Larissa Caser 1 min. read

Business confidence in Hong Kong rose to 5 in the fourth quarter of 2026, its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2023, up from -4 in the previous quarter.

This marked the first positive reading after ten consecutive quarters of pessimism, as sentiment improved across most sectors.

The proportion of respondents expecting improving business conditions was 14%, higher then the 10% in the previous quarter.

Sentiment turned optimistic particularly in accommodation and catering services (19 vs. -9), while also in import and export trade and wholesale (8 vs. -9) and retail (5 vs. -2).

Meanwhile, confidence improved to a neutral level in information and communications (0 vs. -7) and real estate (0 vs. -11).

Pessimism also eased in professional and business services (-4 vs. -10), while sentiment in transportation, warehousing and express delivery services edged up slightly (-14 vs. -15).

However, confidence in manufacturing deteriorated, falling to 0 from 5 in the previous quarter.



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Hong Kong Business Confidence Highest in 3 Years
Business confidence in Hong Kong rose to 5 in the fourth quarter of 2026, its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2023, up from -4 in the previous quarter. This marked the first positive reading after ten consecutive quarters of pessimism, as sentiment improved across most sectors. The proportion of respondents expecting improving business conditions was 14%, higher then the 10% in the previous quarter. Sentiment turned optimistic particularly in accommodation and catering services (19 vs. -9), while also in import and export trade and wholesale (8 vs. -9) and retail (5 vs. -2). Meanwhile, confidence improved to a neutral level in information and communications (0 vs. -7) and real estate (0 vs. -11). Pessimism also eased in professional and business services (-4 vs. -10), while sentiment in transportation, warehousing and express delivery services edged up slightly (-14 vs. -15). However, confidence in manufacturing deteriorated, falling to 0 from 5 in the previous quarter.
2026-10-16
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Business confidence in Hong Kong edged up to -4 in the third quarter of 2026 from -5 in the previous quarter. The share of respondents expecting a better business condition declined to 10% from 11% in Q2 2026, while those anticipating worse conditions eased slightly to 14% from 16%. Confidence strengthened in manufacturing (5 vs 0 in Q2) and sentiment also improved, though remained negative, in accommodation and food services (-9 vs -35), construction (-6 vs -21), and transportation, storage and courier services (-15 vs -24), information and communications (-7 vs -16), and retail (-2 vs -3). Confidence in import/export trade and wholesale was unchanged at -9. However, optimism eased in financing and insurance (10 vs 12), while sentiment deteriorated sharply in real estate (-11 vs 9) and professional and business services (-10 vs 2).
2026-07-17
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Business confidence in Hong Kong fell to -5 in Q2 2026 from -3 in the previous period, marking the weakest reading in three quarters. The share of respondents expecting a better business condition was unchanged at 11% from Q1 2026, while those expecting a worse outcome rose to 16% from 14%. Deterioration was most evident in accommodation and food services (-35), where significantly more respondents expected a weaker business situation, lower output, and reduced employment. Construction also remained subdued (-21), with expectations skewed toward weaker activity and notably lower selling prices. In contrast, financing and insurance (+12) saw more respondents expecting an improved business situation and higher output. Selling price expectations were broadly stable to higher across most sectors, particularly in import/export trade and wholesale, where more firms expected increases, while construction stood out with significantly more respondents expecting lower tender prices.
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