Hong Kong's trade with Gulf Arab countries has surged by over 35 percent year on year in the first five months of 2026, versus the 5 percent growth last year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said.
Notably, bilateral trade with the United Arab Emirates has risen by more than 52 percent, following years of increasing engagement with the Middle East in economic and trade matters, finance, innovation, and people-to-people exchanges, Chan wrote in his weekly blog.
Chan highlighted that the Gulf has been diversifying its investment strategy, shifting more assets from its primary markets in the US and Europe to Asia. Of their hundreds of billions of dollars in global allocations last year, approximately 40 percent flowed into Asia.
Chan also mentioned that Hong Kong will host the LEAP East global technology conference for the next three years, as the city attracted over 25,000 participants, including investors managing US$6.5 trillion (HK$50.7 trillion) in assets, at last week's event.
Meanwhile, he told a local media outlet that he will lead a delegation to visit Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries in October to explore new markets and attract business investment.
