Hong Kong dethroned by Singapore as world’s freest economy in latest report

Hong Kong has lost its top place in the Economic Freedom of the World report for the first time to its rival, Singapore, with the research institute citing more interferences from mainland China. 

The 2023 edition released on Tuesday by Canadian think tank Fraser Institute, stated that the SAR, among 165 jurisdictions, saw its overall score fall by 0.07 points which leaves Hong Kong at 8.55, falling 0.01 points short of Singapore’s 8.56 points. 

The institute said “increased military interference in the rule of law and eroding confidence in judicial independence and the impartiality of courts led to a decline in its legal system and property rights.” 

The institute also cited other factors including new regulatory barriers to entry, limits on employment of foreign labor, and increases in the cost of business. 

“Hong Kong’s recent turn is an example of how economic freedom is intimately connected with civil and political freedom,” said Matthew Mitchell, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute. 

“The Chinese government’s aim was to crack down on political and civil dissent,” he said. 

“These repressions, combined with the government’s efforts to control the private sector, inevitably led to diminished economic freedom. Hong Kong's prosperity will likely suffer as a result.” 

The number three spot is now occupied by Switzerland, followed by New Zealand, the US, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, the UK, and Canada. 

China’s ranking stayed at the 111th place. 

A Hong Kong government spokesman soon said, “The Fraser Institute’s claims that the mainland imposed new and significant barriers to entry, limits on the employment of foreign labor, and increases in the costs of doing business in Hong Kong are factually wrong. 

“We totally disagree with such unfounded claims and express our disappointment.” 

The spokesman also said, “The so-called mainland’s military interference on Hong Kong’s rule of law is completely fictitious and contrary to the facts,” and insisted that Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” principle.