Hong Kong will step up efforts to lure foreign investment and venture into new markets amid geopolitical challenges and trade tensions, as it teams up with mainland Chinese businesses to seize opportunities abroad, the city leader has said.

Speaking ahead of his policy address scheduled to be delivered next month, Chief Executive Lee highlighted Hong Kong’s strengths in convincing foreign businesses to expand their operations locally, while also helping mainland companies go global.

As of July, the Companies Registry listed more than 1.5 million local businesses and over 15,000 non-local firms, a record, he noted.

InvestHK, the city’s investment promotion agency, had helped 1,333 companies establish or expand their operations in Hong Kong between January 2023 and last month, bringing in HK$174 billion (US$22.1 billion) in direct investment within their first year of operation while creating more than 19,000 jobs, he added.

“In the face of complex and volatile geopolitical challenges and the new trade landscape, we will not slow down but speed up steadily in attracting investment to bring more momentum to the local economy,” he wrote on social media.