Fintech has emerged as the dominant vertical in the country’s vibrant startup ecosystem, according to the 2021 Startup Survey conducted by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK).

This year’s results revealed that the overall number of startups in the city reached a record high of 3,755, up 12 percent from the figure in 2020. Out of this 472 were fintech startups.

InvestHK said in a statement that this showcased a positive impact on the job market across different business sectors with the number of staff hired by startups rebounding from that of last year by 29 percent.

Additionally, the survey recorded startups in Hong Kong had hired 13,804 staff, spanning different business sectors, such as fintech, e-commerce, supply chain management and logistics technology, as well as professional or consultancy services.

This uptick in hiring highlights a positive outlook for the Hong Kong job market.

Key factors driving startups to set up in the city were accessibility to international or regional markets (73 percent), the simple tax system and low tax rate (67 percent), business opportunities in Mainland China (61 percent), and access to funding (59 percent).

With China’s 14th Five-Year Plan promoting Hong Kong as an international I&T hub, it is expected that the local ecosystem will be further promoted to complement the tech strength in the Greater Bay Area, giving new impetus to the growth of startups in the years to come.

Jayne Chan, Head of StartmeupHK at InvestHK said,

“The growth in the number of startups in Hong Kong is expected to keep rising as the digitalisation trend continues to accelerate and broaden due to the pandemic.

 

In 2022, we expect to see greater numbers of startups focusing on ESG (environmental, social and governance) and net zero, with proptech, social ventures and greentech expected to grow substantially in future.”

Source: InvestHK’s 2021 Startup Survey 

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