HKG · snapshot 2026-08-09
Hong Kong SAR, China
LowOverall risk score
20.6
Percentile of scored universe
10th
Data coverage
79%
vs Australia (16.1)
+4.4
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Low6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
Low6 indicators · 85% coverage
Financial & Currency Risk
Low5 indicators · 100% coverage
Business Environment
Low3 indicators · 65% coverage
Security & Crime
Low3 indicators · 75% coverage
Climate & Social Compliance
Insufficient dataInsufficient data
Technology & Digital
Insufficient dataInsufficient data
Cultural Distance
Low9 indicators · 100% coverage · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Hong Kong SAR, China rates Low for market entry — an overall risk score of 20.6, less risky than 90% of rated economies and 4 points riskier than Australia.
The main risk driver is no double-tax agreement with Australia.
Relative strengths: regulatory quality, secure internet servers, government effectiveness all sit in the least-risky quarter of rated economies.
Possible mitigations
- Withholding tax. No double-tax agreement with Australia: model withholding tax on dividends, interest, and royalties into the business case — it can decide the entity-vs-export question.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 51.2 | 56.8 | High | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 83.2 | 7.6 | Low | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 82.3 | 3.7 | Low | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 72.8 | 21.0 | Low | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 79.7 | 8.5 | Low | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 76.7 | 30.2 | Medium | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | 3.1% (3-yr avg) | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | ±4.0 pp | 59.9 | High | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 11.9 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | 1.4 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | 10.7% (3-yr avg) | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $80,423 | 8.3 | Low | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | 1.00 | 5.0 | Low | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | Pegged — credible (reserve-backed, low inflation gap) | 12.0 | Low | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | Category 2 / 7 | 16.0 | Low | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Not listed | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | 4.0 | 6.5 | Low | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | 71.2 | 17.3 | Low | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | In force | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 0.0 | 29.7 | Medium | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.4 | 5.9 | Low | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | Level 2 — Exercise a high degree of caution | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | 2.8 | 17.8 | Low | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | 28.2 | 24.1 | Low | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 95.8 | 12.1 | Low | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 156139.2 | 4.4 | Low | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
2.8%
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates. (2025, ILO modelled)
Trade agreement
Free trade agreement with Australia in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
No higher regional advisory levels
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Hong Kong SAR, China in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.