Hong Kong falls off the competitive edge in overall China rankings
City loses second place in overall China rankings and nosedives off top spot when it comes to rating effective government
Hong Kong has plunged from China's second most competitive region to its fifth, according to a think tank that blames it on slower economic growth and weaker governance.
As part of the calculations for the China Institute of City Competitiveness survey, Hong Kong also lost the No 1 spot for most effective government and dropped out of the top 10 altogether.
The annual ranking exercise saw Hong Kong overtaken by Jiangsu , Shandong and Zhejiang provinces in terms of overall competitiveness over the past year.
The previous year saw it second only to Guangdong province. Shanghai's ranking was unchanged in seventh place.
"Hong Kong's overall competitiveness has been on a track of decline, but it dropped more significantly over the past year," said Gui Qiangfang, vice-chairman of the institute.
"Economic growth also slowed to 1.4 per cent last year, down from 4.9 per cent in 2011," he said. "The strength in innovations has further declined over the past year. The effectiveness of governance also dropped amid political rivalries."
