Deloitte China fuels HK growth with HK$500m and 1000 jobs

Deloitte China has pledged to invest HK$500 million and create 1,000 employment opportunities in Hong Kong, in an effort to drive the city’s diversified economic development and reinforce its status as a regional talent hub.

The strategic initiative, titled “HK LEAP”, underscores the firm’s long-term commitment to the Hong Kong market. By ramping up investment in high-potential growth areas, including fintech, capital markets, and artificial intelligence, Deloitte aims to strengthen the city's position as an international financial centre and bolster its evolution into a global innovation and technology (I&T) hub.

As part of the HK LEAP strategy, Deloitte has released its 2025 Hong Kong Economic Outlook White Paper at a press conference held alongside the firm’s National Partners Conference. Titled Building Strength for New Breakthroughs: Hong Kong’s Economic Transformation and Future Opportunities, the report reflects Deloitte China's strong confidence in the long-term development of both the Mainland and Hong Kong.

It analyses the current challenges facing Hong Kong’s economy, including geopolitical shifts, industrial structure, and talent supply, while outlining four strategic growth engines for the city’s future development.

Data shows that around 77% of Mainland Chinese enterprises have chosen Hong Kong as their global launchpad. However, Mainland enterprises face a range of capital management challenges in their global expansion, including multi-currency operations and exchange rate volatility (82%), local capital controls and profit repatriation challenges (82%), fragmented cash management across overseas subsidiaries and delayed information flow (59%), and compliance pressures from overseas taxation and transfer pricing (41%).

With its mature financial system, low-tax environment, and efficient settlement infrastructure, Hong Kong is emerging as an ideal destination for corporate treasury centres, and Deloitte recommends that the city build an integrated global growth service system, focused on risk monitoring, early warning, and training, to help enterprises strengthen their resilience in global operations.

Beyond capital management support, Hong Kong’s deep capital market foundations and sustained global capital inflows have already positioned it as a global leader: the city ranked first worldwide in IPO fundraising during the first three quarters of 2025.

That said, the report also highlights ongoing challenges, including heightened geopolitical uncertainty, shortages of multidisciplinary financial talent, and an increasingly complex regulatory landscape driven by rapid financial innovation. To address these, the city’s growth engine will accelerate fintech innovation, further elevating its status as an international financial centre.

Meanwhile, the report outlines additional priorities, including deepening cross-border and regional collaboration to drive I&T as a new growth engine and building a green transformation hub to support the transition of carbon-intensive industries.

Deloitte China CEO Dora Liu said, "Driven by the 15th five-year plan, China is accelerating innovation-driven development, technological self-reliance, and industrial modernisation. With its unique strengths, Hong Kong stands at the convergence of threefold opportunities: global geopolitical shifts, national strategic priorities, and deeper integration within the Greater Bay Area. Its role as a 'super connector' and 'super value-adder' between the Mainland and global markets is becoming increasingly vital."

Deloitte China managing partner of Southern region, Edward Au said, "Deloitte China is honoured to be part of the GoGlobal Task Force. As Mainland companies shift toward exporting integrated capabilities such as technology, branding, and management, Hong Kong's edge is increasingly defined by its ability to align specialised resources with enterprise needs and foster partnerships tailored to specific market scenarios."

Deloitte Asia Pacific chief strategy and innovation officer Thierry Delmarcelle said, "Ongoing shifts in global geopolitics, China's accelerated path toward high-quality development, and a stronger focus of Asia Pacific businesses on innovation and on cross-border opportunities present Hong Kong with a unique opportunity for being the catalyst of the transformation of Asia Pacific economies."

"This is critical for sustaining Hong Kong's long-term competitiveness. This vision for the city rests on the four growth pillars we describe in our white paper and enables it to foster innovation at scale, to deepen regional connectivity, and to accelerate the development of future-ready industries. Deloitte is fully committed—globally, regionally, and locally—to champion Hong Kong's journey—helping it to shape the next chapter of growth across Asia Pacific and globally," added Delmarcelle.

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