Multinational firms are beginning to rediscover Hong Kong as a headquarters site for their Asian operations, ac cording to a government poll.
The Industry Department said the number of regional operations based in Hong Kong rose an annualised 1.7 per cent this year.
An overwhelming majority of the companies surveyed cited 'cleanliness of government' to be the most favourable aspect in choosing Hong Kong over its regional competitors.
An Industry Department spokesman said he welcomed the positive results from this year's survey.
'This is a good sign that our business environment has turned for the better and that international business interest in Hong Kong is on the rise,' he said.
By comparison, a similar survey conducted last year recorded a 2.6 per cent decrease in the number of overseas companies headquartering their Asian operations in Hong Kong, he said.
The survey comes as Asia begins to emerge from two years of regional recession.