Hong Kong ranks as world's freest economies

In the **Economic Freedom of the World 2024 Annual Report **published by the Fraser Institute today (October 16), Hong Kong ranks as the world's freest economies among 165 economies, up by one place from last year. Among the five areas of assessment, Hong Kong ranks top in 'Freedom to trade internationally'; and 'Regulation';, and its ranking in 'Sound money'; rises to third globally.

For long, Hong Kong has fully leveraged the advantages of a free market, and maintained a free, open, effective and fair business environment. The ranking fully reflects the international recognition of these advantages. The distinctive institutional strengths of the "one country, two systems" arrangement also make Hong Kong an ideal city for doing business.

The Policy Address delivered on Oct 16, has set out clear directions, as well as specific and impactful policies and measures to reinforce and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international financial, shipping and trading centre, build itself into an international hub for high-calibre talent, develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions, and foster collaboration with the Greater Bay Area, so as to further enhance Hong Kong's development momentum, and promote the high-quality development of Hong Kong's economy.

According to various surveys, foreign businesses in Hong Kong generally have confidence in Hong Kong's rule of law. The HKSAR Government hopes that future assessments in Economic Freedom of the World can fully reflect the relevant facts. Read the press release here