As a Singaporean, I’ve always felt a kinship to Hong Kong; it has enough similarities to my home country that being in Hong Kong always feels familiar and even the complaints that its citizens have (ballooning housing prices and a high cost of living) mirror each other.
At the same time, there is also a sense of competition between the two cities, both vying for a place at the top when it comes to global trade, business opportunities and their status as a financial hub.
Hong Kong has been through its fair share of troubles recently. The pro-democracy protests in 2019 captured the attention of the world before being overshadowed when COVID-19 hit. Hong Kong’s COVID-19 lockdowns extended considerably longer than most of its neighbours, leading to a ‘brain drain’ that has only recently been reversed. All these factors were a blow to its race against Singapore as Asia’s premier financial hub. Over the past couple of years, however, it has made significant strides to catch up.
The numbers don’t lie: Hong Kong’s GDP grew by 5.9% in the first quarter of 2026, an acceleration from the already-solid 4.0% growth recorded the quarter before.
But perhaps more interesting than the raw growth numbers is why Hong Kong is growing. The city has leaned into a role that no other financial hub in the region can credibly claim: a bridge between China and the rest of the world. As geopolitical tensions between East and West have deepened, that position has become more valuable, not less. Multinational firms that need access to Chinese markets, but who also want to operate within a familiar legal and financial framework, have few better options. Foreign investment into the city reached a record high of over $8.7bn in 2024, with the number of overseas companies setting up or expanding there jumping 41% compared to the year before.
This has direct effects on Hong Kong’s insurers. Since the reopening of borders with the mainland, sales of life insurance products to mainland Chinese visitors have resumed and contributed to substantial growth for Hong Kong’s life insurers. Multiple surveys of mainland Chinese buyers show that nearly half of those planning to visit Hong Kong intend to purchase a policy during their trip, with that figure rising to 65% for customers from the Greater Bay Area specifically. These are customers seeking products, particularly in life and retirement planning, that the mainland market has not been able to fully provide.
The regulatory architecture to support this is also taking shape. China’s State Council has designated Hong Kong as a strategic risk management centre, and cross-border integration in the Greater Bay Area is deepening — with an Insurance Connect scheme in the works that could eventually allow Hong Kong insurers to sell directly into the mainland. There is a significant opportunity present in Hong Kong’s insurance market. Valued at $76bn in 2024, is projected to grow at nearly 7% annually through to 2032, and the market is ready to take advantage. A
Ahmad Zaki
Editorial Director
Asia Insurance Review