Hong Kong will kick off the first week of November by hosting two major global financial events and announcing third-quarter economic growth, which Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po expects to beat market estimates on accelerating exports and solid domestic demand.
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, said Chan in his weekly blog post. 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 gross domestic product is expected to beat market expectations and surpass the figure in the second quarter, marking Hong Kong’s 15th consecutive quarter of positive growth.
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.
The economic growth can be attributed to the key driver of technological innovation, Chan said. He noted that exports surged 64.9 percent year on year in September, marking the 20th consecutive month of double-digit growth and the fastest monthly increase in more than 40 years.
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
The Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK 2026 runs for five days starting on Monday, centering on the theme Fintech Nexus: Bridging the World, Building the Future. Chan said 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.
Chan said 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.
