Hong Kong Economic Structure

By: EconomyWatch Content   Date: 12 March 2010

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Hong Kong’s economic structure mainly comprises the manufacturing and services sectors, which operate in a business-friendly environment. There is full support from the government in the form of free trade, minimum government intervention and a low and simple taxation system. The city’s world class infrastructure and considerable investment in the development of human resources and education indicate a promising future. The strong legal system of Hong Kong ensures proper individual and property rights protection. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a number of manufacturing companies moved from Hong Kong to mainland China, giving a boost to the former territory’s service industry. In 2009, the service sector accounted for 92.3% of the territory’s total gross domestic product.

Hong Kong Economic Structure: Divisions into Sectors

Hong Kong’s economic structure can be divided into the following sectors:

 

Primary Sector: In Hong Kong, agriculture and aquaculture are called the sunset industries. The steep hillside is largely responsible for zero agriculture and has to import agriculture produce from mainland China. In 2006, not even 0.3% of the labor force was engaged in Hong Kong’s agriculture sector.

 

Secondary Sector: The manufacturing sector of Hong Kong comprised 274,000‡ SMEs as of June 2009. That year, the industrial sector contributed 7.6% to country’s gross domestic product (GDP). There were 12,743‡ manufacturing business units in 2008, with less than 100 people working in each of them, i.e. 4.0%‡ of the total labor force was employed in the manufacturing sector. The country produces and exports electrical machinery and appliances, textiles and apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys and plastics, precious stones and printed material. The manufacturing processes are highly technology oriented.     

 

Tertiary Sector: The economy of Hong Kong rides on its services sector. Since the 1990s, there has been tremendous development in this sector, placing it among the world’s leading service-oriented economies. In 2007, this sector contributed 92.3% to the territory’s GDP, which is a drastic increase from the 68.3% reported in 1980. Major development was witnessed in the producer services that handle offshore production operations in Hong Kong. As of 2008, 87.7%‡ of the workforce was employed in the services sector. Moreover, out of the 259,270‡ service business units, 98.2%‡ were SMEs with less than 50 persons working in each one of them.

 


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