Legal framework enables expansion
When PT Merdeka Gold Resources, a leading Indonesian gold producer, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this summer, the move signaled more than a capital-raising exercise. It reflected a deepening economic corridor between Indonesia and Hong Kong, where enterprises from both sides increasingly rely on each other for growth and market access.
The strategic partnership between the two economies has accelerated substantially in recent years. Two-way merchandise trade reached nearly $6 billion in 2025, split evenly at approximately $3 billion in each direction. Hong Kong has emerged as Indonesia's fifth-largest investor with a foreign direct investment stock exceeding $25 billion at the end of 2025, and accounted for nearly a quarter of total FDI flowing into Indonesia during the year, making it the second-largest single source.
This relationship extends across the broader ASEAN region, where Hong Kong maintains its position as the bloc's second-largest trading partner for the 16th consecutive year. Total merchandise trade between ASEAN and Hong Kong reached HK$1,668.5 billion (approximately $214 billion) in 2025, according to Hong Kong's Trade and Industry Department.
Legal framework enables expansion
The ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement and Investment Agreement, signed on November 12, 2017 in Manila during the 31st ASEAN Summit, provides the foundation for this economic integration. The agreement, which entered into full force on February 12, 2021, comprises 14 chapters addressing market access liberalization, trade facilitation, and cooperation mechanisms to support cross-border commerce in goods and services.
Hong Kong maintains physical infrastructure to support this trade through its network of Economic and Trade Offices across ASEAN, including one in Jakarta. Invest Hong Kong, the government's investment promotion agency, operates teams throughout the region to facilitate business establishment and expansion in both directions.
Capital markets drive corporate decisions
For Indonesian companies, Hong Kong offers access to Asia's largest hedge fund center and cross-border wealth management hub, as confirmed by the Hong Kong Financial Services and Treasury Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The city hosted over 3,380 single family offices by the end of 2025, representing an increase of approximately 680 offices from the previous year.
Hong Kong's legislature is currently considering legislation that would exempt private equity and venture capital fund managers from tax on performance-linked income, a move that would establish the first clear regulatory framework of its kind globally.
The financial infrastructure extends to specialized sectors. In July 2026, Hong Kong launched a central clearing and settlement system for precious metals, operated by the government-owned Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company. The system, which connects to the Shanghai Gold Exchange and includes storage capacity approaching 2,000 tons, provides mining companies and refiners with integrated trading, settlement and storage capabilities.
Access to Greater Bay Area markets
Hong Kong's value proposition for Indonesian firms includes proximity to the Greater Bay Area, which recorded a GDP exceeding RMB 15 trillion (approximately $2.1 trillion) with a population surpassing 88 million in 2025, according to official figures from Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.
The Northern Metropolis development, spanning roughly one-third of Hong Kong's land area along the Shenzhen border, forms the innovation and industry component of Hong Kong's dual-engine economy. Government planning documents project the development will provide approximately 500,000 additional residential units and create around 650,000 new jobs upon completion. The project allocates land based on development plans and job creation rather than bid size alone.
In June 2026, the newly launched ASEAN Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong) organized its inaugural delegation of over 100 participants to tour the Northern Metropolis, demonstrating institutional support for trade and investment flows between the Chinese Mainland and ASEAN.
Rising investment activity
The number of ASEAN companies that Invest Hong Kong assisted in establishing or expanding operations in Hong Kong increased by nearly 30 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, according to Loretta Lee, the agency's associate director-general of investment promotion.
Lee noted that Hong Kong functions as a platform connecting Indonesian and ASEAN companies' capital, talent and growth objectives to the Greater Bay Area, the Chinese Mainland and international markets. The arrangement facilitates two-way investment flows that pair Hong Kong's financial and professional services capabilities with the expansion plans of ASEAN enterprises operating under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Belt and Road Summit expands reach
Hong Kong hosts approximately 1,400 Belt and Road companies and operates a global network of offices covering most economies along the route. The city has led business missions to Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa in recent months.
The 11th Belt and Road Summit, held September 9-10, 2026 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, assembled officials and business leaders from along the Belt and Road route. The previous year's summit attracted over 6,200 participants from more than 70 countries and regions. The 2026 edition introduced a GoGlobal Connect Zone to showcase professional services solutions across sectors and provide consultation for enterprises pursuing international expansion.
For Indonesian companies evaluating Hong Kong as a base for regional or global expansion, Invest Hong Kong provides guidance on market entry, regulatory requirements, site selection and talent acquisition. The agency's presence in Jakarta enables direct engagement with Indonesian enterprises considering the move.
