The U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements help U.S. companies make informed business decisions by providing up-to-date information on the investment climates of more than 170 countries and economies. They are prepared by our embassies and consulates around the world and analyze each economy’s openness to foreign investment. Topics include:
 

• Openness to, and Restrictions upon, Foreign Investment, 
• Investment and Taxation Treaties,
• Legal Regime,
• Industrial Policies,
• Protection of Property Rights,
• Financial Sector,
• State-owned Enterprises,
• Corruption,
• Labor Policies and Practices,
• Political and Security Environment, and
• U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs
   

Each statement provides a starting point for U.S. firms and offers a point of contact at the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

These reports are also a resource for foreign governments to create business environments that ensure fair treatment for the United States and our companies and investors. 

To access the full Investment Climate Statement, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, with its status defined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committed that Hong Kong would be vested with a high degree of autonomy, including executive, legislative, and independent judicial power, and that its social and economic systems would remain unchanged for 50 years after reversion in 1997. However, while there remain differences between Hong Kong and mainland China in some areas – including trade and investment policy, cross-border information flows, and commercial legal frameworks – China’s imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in June 2020 undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy and introduced heightened uncertainty for foreign and local firms operating in Hong Kong. This uncertainty in the investment climate increased with the March 23, 2024, implementation of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO), enacted under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law, following a rushed process. The extremely broad and vague definitions of “espionage,” “state secret,” “external interference,” and potential extraterritorial application could affect or impair routine business activities.

In response to the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy and the freedoms of the people in Hong Kong, the U.S. government has taken measures under Executive Order 13936 on Hong Kong Normalization and through the implementation of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020 to eliminate or suspend aspects of Hong Kong’s differential treatment, including:

• Suspending licenses under the Arms Export Control Act,
• Giving notice of termination of an agreement that provided for reciprocal tax exemption on income from the international operation of ships,
• Establishing new marking rules requiring goods made in Hong Kong to be labeled “Made in China,” and
• Imposing sanctions against former and current Hong Kong and CCP officials.
   

On March 31, 2025, the Secretary of State again certified that Hong Kong does not warrant treatment under U.S. law in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1, 1997.

On September 6, 2024, the Department of State, along with the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Homeland Security, updated the advisory to U.S. businesses regarding potential risks to their operations and activities in Hong Kong. These include:

• Risks following the imposition of the NSL and passage of the SNSO,
• Data privacy risks,
• Transparency and access to business information, and
• Exposure to sanctioned entities or individuals.

Hong Kong remains a highly open economy with generally favorable conditions for doing business. Hong Kong is the United States’ 18th-largest goods export market, 21st largest for total agricultural products, and eighth largest for high-value consumer-ready food products. The United States enjoyed a trade surplus of goods and services of $25.2 billion with Hong Kong in 2024, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2023, the stock of U.S. direct investment into Hong Kong increased 15.3 percent to $53 billion, reversing a consistent decline in U.S. investment. Hong Kong’s economy, with its advanced institutions and regulatory systems, is bolstered by competitive sectors including:

• financial and professional services,
• trading,
• logistics, and
• tourism.
   

Hong Kong provides for no distinction in law or practice between investments by foreign-controlled companies and those controlled by local interests. Foreign firms and individuals can incorporate their operations in Hong Kong, register branches of foreign operations, and set up representative offices without encountering discrimination or undue regulation. There are no restrictions on the ownership of such operations. Company directors are not required to be residents of or in Hong Kong. Reporting requirements are straightforward and not onerous.

On economic policy, Hong Kong has historically adopted a free market philosophy, however, in order to achieve the “Eight Centers” outlined in Hong Kong’s positioning under China’s 14th Five-Year plan, the government has introduced incentives in sectors such as technology, transportation, and shipping. The Hong Kong government is also developing a series of measures and policies that will further integrate the city with the southern China region as part of the of Greater Bay Area (GBA) integration. The Hong Kong government welcomes foreign investment. However, it provides incentives for investment in certain priority sectors, such as those outlined above, and proactively seeks out investment from certain countries over others.

Hong Kong’s legal system had been traditionally viewed as a bastion of judicial independence. However, authorities have limited the independence of the judiciary in cases deemed by authorities to have crossed into political or national security areas. Rule of law risks that were formerly limited to mainland China have now increasingly become a potential concern in Hong Kong and could affect commerce and trade.

The service sector accounted for 93.5 percent of Hong Kong’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024. According to the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong hosts a large number of regional headquarters and regional offices, however, the number of foreign multi-national companies using Hong Kong as a regional base has experienced a steady decline since 2020. The number of U.S. firms with a presence in Hong Kong has not changed significantly over the past decade, with 1,388 reported in 2012 and 1,390 in 2024, according to Hong Kong’s 2024 census data. Out of that number, about half (47 percent) are regional in scope. Mainland China-based firms constitute the largest source of “foreign” offices in Hong Kong, representing 26.3 percent of total foreign offices, more than doubling its share since 2013, according to Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data. Japan and the United States are the second and third largest sources of foreign offices, respectively, though their shares have declined marginally over the same period. Finance and related services companies, such as banks, law, and accounting firms play a large role in Hong Kong’s economy. Over seventy of the world’s 100 largest banks have operations in Hong Kong.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - Macau

Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China with its status defined in the 1987 Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, the SAR’s de facto constitution. Under the concept of “One Country, Two Systems,” the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committed that Macau would be vested with a high degree of autonomy and that its social and economic systems would remain unchanged for 50 years, following Macau’s reversion to Chinese sovereignty in 1999. Macau, a separate customs territory from mainland China, describes itself as a liberal economy and a free port. Gaming and tourism are the primary basis of Macau’s economy, though efforts are underway to diversify its engines of economic growth. The Government of Macau maintains a transparent, non-discriminatory, and free-market economy. The Government of Macau is committed to maintaining an investor-friendly environment.

In 2002, the Government of Macau ended a long-standing gaming monopoly, awarding two gaming concessions and one sub-concession to a consortium with U.S. interests. This opening encouraged substantial U.S. investment in casinos and hotels and has spurred rapid economic growth in the gaming, tourism, and entertainment sectors, among which the gaming industry is the most important economic pillar. In December 2022, the Government of Macau awarded six 10-year gaming concessions, including to the three incumbent local subsidiaries of U.S. firms. 

Macau recorded $28.3 billion in full-year casino gross gaming revenue in 2024, reflecting a 24 percent increase from the previous year’s total and recovering to 77.5 percent of the gaming revenue recorded in 2019, driven by the steady influx of bettors from mainland China benefitting from eased travel visa policies. While gross gaming revenue failed to reach 2019 levels, Macau again surpassed Las Vegas in 2024, as it had every year since 2007, with the exception of 2022. Prior to the pandemic, Macau’s gaming revenues were roughly six times higher than Las Vegas’ on average. The Government of Macau collected gaming tax revenue of $11 billion in 2024, accounting for 81 percent of the total government revenue of $13.7 billion. Macau maintains a monopoly on casino gaming in China, in comparison to the U.S. market which is more geographically dispersed.

U.S. investment in Macau over the past decade is estimated to be at least $20 billion, a figure expected to grow as the six concessionaires agreed to invest at least $15 billion in the Macau economy as part of the concession process to advance the Government of Macau’s efforts to diversify the economy. In addition to gaming, Macau aspires to be a regional center for:

• Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) travel;
• Traditional Chinese medicine;
• Modern financial services; and
• Advanced technology.

To date, however, related efforts have yielded minimal results. China has also directed Macau to become a “commercial and trade cooperation service platform” between mainland China and Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs). Direct trade between Macau and PSCs remains marginal, accounting for just 0.9 percent of Macau’s total trade volume of $17.6 billion in 2024. The Government of Macau has various policies to promote these efforts and to create business opportunities for domestic and foreign investors. In 2007, business leaders founded the American Chamber of Commerce of Macau.

Several major infrastructure projects were completed in 2024, including the fourth harbor crossing with eight vehicle lanes and the light rail’s cross-border extension to Hengqin in Zhuhai, where it interchanges with the Zhuhai Airport Intercity Railway. The Macau International Airport expansion, which involves reclaiming 129 hectares (319 acres) of land, is underway with a 2030 target completion date.

The Government of Macau has taken several actions, particularly since 2021, that have limited participation in the political process, including changes to the Chief Executive Election Law in 2023, and the disqualification in 2021, of pro-democracy candidates from participating in elections for Macau’s Legislative Assembly. The Government of Macau also amended its domestic national security law in 2023, expanding definitions of crimes such as secession, sedition, and collusion, and passed a State Secrets Law granting the Chief Executive broad discretion to decide what information should be classified and for how long. In January 2023, the United States put into effect a rule that applies to Macau export controls against China on advanced computing integrated circuits (ICs), computer commodities that contain such ICs, and certain semiconductor manufacturing items. In February 2025, the United States classified mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau as “foreign adversaries” under the America First Investment Policy memorandum, which requires the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to curb Chinese-linked investments in key U.S. industries and introduces new measures to block U.S. investments in sectors that advance China’s National Civil-Military Integration Strategy.

To access the full Investment Climate Statement for Hong Kong and Macau, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website.