Hong Kong will kick off the first week of November with third-quarter economic growth data that Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po expects to beat market estimates on accelerating exports and solid domestic demand, alongside two major global financial events.
Chan highlighted in his weekly blog post that the Hong Kong FinTech Week and Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit and other related activities will commence on Monday, bringing together hundreds of international financial leaders. The public can also expect a series of new policies and partnerships.
Q3 GDP Expected to Beat Expectations
Chan noted that preliminary indications suggest third-quarter GDP is expected to beat market expectations and surpass the figure in the second quarter, marking Hong Kong’s 15th consecutive quarter of positive growth.
Hong Kong GDP grew by 4.3 percent in the second quarter over a year earlier, down from the 5.9 percent increase in the first quarter.
Real GDP growth for the first three quarters combined is also the highest for the same period in five years, Chan said, and as the economy maintains good momentum, the full-year economic growth forecast may be revised upward.
In August, the government announced a full-year real GDP forecast of 3.5-4.5 percent, and for the first half of 2026, real GDP grew by 5.1 percent over a year earlier, the strongest half-yearly performance in nearly five years.
The economic growth can be attributed to the key driver of technological innovation, Chan said. Hong Kong’s exports surged 64.9 percent year on year to HK$762.57 billion in September, marking the 20th consecutive month of double-digit growth and the fastest monthly increase in more than four decades.
Additionally, private investment spending has recorded double-digit growth for three consecutive quarters. Chan said the momentum is expected to carry forward to the third quarter. Upcoming retail and catering revenue figures are also expected to show continued moderate growth.
However, he said the government will continue to closely monitor geopolitical and economic developments, as well as the monetary policy direction of major central banks.
FinTech Week and Global Financial Leaders' Summit
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK 2026 will run for five days at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre starting on Monday, centering on the theme Fintech Nexus: Bridging the World, Building the Future. Chan said other related events will also be held at other venues, with more than 45,000 participants from over 120 economies expected to join online and in person.
He mentioned that the government and several financial regulators will announce new policies and partnerships on areas such as artificial intelligence application and governance, tokenization, and payment connectivity. The new measures will further enhance financial market efficiency, deliver better services to the public and small and medium enterprises, and create new opportunities for fintech companies.
As for the fifth Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit, which begins on Monday, the series of events will bring together about 280 international financial leaders, including around 120 group chairpersons and chief executives of the world's top financial institutions. This year's theme is Rethinking the Playbook, Chan noted, focusing on exploring how the development of AI computing power race and investment.
A welcome dinner will be held at The Henderson on Monday, following a two-day summit at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong on Tuesday and Wednesday.
