Artificial intelligence adoption among cross-border businesses surged from 25 percent to 79 percent, positioning it alongside fintech as the future of Hong Kong trade, a report by global financial platform Airwallex showed on Thursday.
The findings were based on a survey of 462 cross-border businesses, conducted by Hong Kong Trade Development Council sourcing between March and April this year.
Based on the report, the AI adoption achieves threefold growth within a year, and is shifting from experimentation to daily usage.
Nick Chiu, head of SME&Growth, Airwallex said the usage of AI moves from discovery to decision making, particularly in comparing suppliers, assessing risks, and evaluating options.
"The challenges in our society are with the micro, small and medium enterprises, which have a very hard time understanding AI and the digital transformation aspects," said Roy Ng Chun-tat, vice chairman of The Hong Kong Exporters' Association, "But the problem has been improved and micro companies picked up the trend quicker since last year.”
Chiu mentioned that "adoption is no longer the challenge, execution is," indicating the importance for industries to integrate AI, fintech, and data into core workflows.
Fintech usage for cross-border transactions tripled to 60 percent over the past 12 months, raised from 4 percent in 2024; prompting to reduce cost, accelerate payments, and gain greater transparency, such as in real-time tracking over global financial operations.
Around 80 percent of businesses expect to increase online sourcing over the next 12 months, coinciding with the sourcing shifts doubling from 15 percent last year to 29 percent this year.
According to the report, 63 percent of respondents cite security as their top concern. Chiu said obtaining proper licenses and infrastructure complying with the local law and all requirements are the method to help customers feel comfortable regarding the issue.
Security of consumer products, especially on medical devices with trusted data can be solved by creating a unique device identifier, such as QR code, ensuring data cannot be copied or altered, according to Ng.
"You still have people accountable, but kind of sprinkled AI on top as a check on the incentive systems, requiring people to be pushing and experimenting," Jeff Zielinski, CFO of Build and Ship, a leading Hong Kong-based cross-border e-commerce platform said.
The report also stated that the jewelry sector emerges as active fintech users, untapped tech opportunity.
Yu Yan Pui
