Hong Kong economy showed resilience in first quarter of 2026, Paul Chan says

he minister has said investors are treating Hong Kong as a “reliable haven for funds”.

Photo: Jelly Tse Hong Kong’s economy showed resilience in the first quarter of 2026 amid a more volatile stock market, even though the conflict in the Middle East continued to fuel market jitters, the city’s finance chief has said.

In a review of the city’s economic health in the first three months of this year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday attributed Hong Kong’s performance to the steady growth of mainland China’s economy, with the city leveraging the situation to establish itself as a global hi-tech financing hub.

The minister said the geopolitical landscape had proved to be complex and fast-changing during the first quarter, as uncertainty related to the United States-Israel attack on Iran continued to cloud the stock market.

Hong Kong and other global cities reliant on oil imports are contending with the war’s impact on fuel prices, with airlines already passing extra costs onto travellers through fuel surcharges.

Meanwhile, Chan’s review did not address whether Hong Kong would be able to meet its full-year growth forecast of between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent.

The minister shared the prediction in his budget speech in late February, just before the conflict began.

The minister said on Sunday that trading remained active despite the Hang Seng benchmark index falling by about 2 per cent so far this year, with the average daily turnover for the first two months exceeding HK$260 billion, a 17 per cent increase year on year.

In March, the average daily turnover exceeded HK$300 billion, an 8 per cent increase year on year. “Amid the uncertainty, investors are increasing their asset allocation here,” he said. “They not only treat Hong Kong as a reliable haven for funds, but also see the ample investment opportunities offered by Hong Kong because of the steady economic growth on the mainland and the listing of a large number of high-quality enterprises here.” Finance chief Paul Chan also notes that the city’s merchandise exports grew by nearly 30 per cent year on year in the first two months.

Photo: Elson Li The initial public offering (IPO) market continued the strong momentum of 2025, raising more than HK$103 billion as of March 27 this year and ranking first in the world.

Together with follow-up financing and other channels, the total fundraising scale reached HK$237 billion.

Chan also said there had been an increase in listing companies related to

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