Advertisement
Advertisement
Hong Kong is noted as a convenient place to establish or disband an enterprise. Photo: Sam Tsang

New | Hong Kong climbs to second place in Asia competitiveness ranking

Kwong Man-ki

Hong Kong jumped from third to second in an annual ranking of the overall competitiveness of Asian economies last year, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Boao Forum for Asia.

Singapore topped the list for the second consecutive year, with South Korea third and Taiwan fourth.

Hong Kong ranked No 1 in 2012 but was overtaken by Singapore and South Korea in 2013 and fell to third.

In terms of commercial and administrative efficiency, Hong Kong moved up one notch last year to rank No 3 because the city was a particularly convenient place to establish or disband an enterprise, the report said. Hong Kong ranked first in infrastructure.

The forum assesses the competitiveness of 37 Asian economies in terms of their macroeconomic strength, infrastructure, social development, business and administrative efficiency, and human capital and innovation.

Hong Kong needed to improve its higher education and innovation capability, the report said, with its ranking in that sector falling one notch to 11th.

China remained in ninth place for overall competitiveness for a second year, after moving up one notch in 2013.

Mainland Chinese oil and gas giants outperformed among Asian listed enterprises, occupying three spots in the top 10 list. PetroChina was the most competitive listed company in Asia, according to the study. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) ranked No 5, and China National Offshore Oil Corp 10th.

However, only 51 listed mainland Chinese companies were among the top 300 in the comprehensive competitiveness list, compared with 61 in 2013.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: HK jumps to No 2 in Asia competitiveness ranking
Post