5 Things Western Entrepreneurs Should Know Before Doing Business in Hong Kong

Detailed summary

Four generations of family business in Hong Kong offer five practical lessons for Western entrepreneurs setting up in the city.

More overseas companies are operating in Hong Kong than ever before. Government figures show a record 11,070 companies with parent companies outside the city in 2025, up 11% in a year, including 1,550 with U.S. parents. And Boston Consulting Group’s latest Global Wealth Report found that Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub.

My family has been in business here for four generations, and I have watched many Western companies arrive. The ones that struggle are rarely let down by the numbers. More often, they arrive with the wrong assumptions about how business works here. These are the five things I would tell any Western entrepreneur before they start.

Hong Kong has an excellent legal system, and contracts here are taken seriously. But a contract is usually the last step, not the first. Most of the deals I have seen succeed began with an introduction from someone both sides trusted, followed by several meals and conversations before anyone discussed terms.

Western founders sometimes see this as slow. I see it as due diligence done in person. Trust takes a long time to build and surprisingly little time to lose, so it pays to invest in it early. If you can, ask someone respected locally to introduce you, and follow up in person rather than relying on email.

Many of Hong Kong’s best-known companies are still controlled by families, and the person across the meeting table is not always the person who decides. In some firms, the real decision is made quietly by a senior family member or a small inner circle before the formal meeting takes place.

In my own family’s business, we chose to bring in outside professionals to run the company rather than rely on family members. Many families here have done the same, but ownership and influence often stay with the family. Ask early how decisions are made and who needs to be comfortable with them. It can save you months.

It also helps to know which generation you are dealing with.

Hong Kong…

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