Hong Kong‘s strength in trade and commerce has seen it being rated in the top 10 cities for total trade value in 2024, according to the DHL Trade Atlas 2025.
It was ranked seventh in total trade value for 2024, with a total of $1.3 trillion USD, and sixth spot globally in terms of trade volume change, amounting to $212.7 billion USD, from 2024 to 2029.
The report, created by DHL and the New York University Stern School of Business, measures changes in countries’ and regions’ shares of world trade, providing a comprehensive analysis of the most important trends in global trade that covers nearly 200 countries and territories around the world.
Hong Kong’s sixth-placed ranking on the scale dimension (tracking the absolute change in the amount of goods traded by a market) aligns it with other growing Asian markets, such as India and Vietnam, where it is forecast to maintain a 3.1 per cent compound annual trade volume growth rate over the 2024-2029 period.
The DHL Trade Atlas report found that eight out of the top ten of Hong Kong’s export and import destinations from 2018-2023 were within Asia or in the Middle East, with its top export destination being mainland China (57 per cent), followed by the United States (6.8 per cent) and India (3.1 per cent). Nearly half of the city’s import within the same period came from mainland China (43 per cent).
“Hong Kong, recognised as a leading international financial and trade hub, has demonstrated strength in both trade value and volume,” said DHL Express Senior Vice President and Managing Director – Hong Kong and Macau, Andy Chiang.
“As trade within Asia increases, Hong Kong serves as a vital gateway between mainland China and the rest of the world, maintaining strong connections with its Asian counterparts.
“We are well-positioned to meet the rising trade demand through recent strategic investments, including the inauguration of our Hong Kong West Service Center, the expansion of the Central Asia Hub at Hong Kong International Airport, and new direct flights from Hong Kong to Jakarta and Sydney. These initiatives will enable us to better serve our customers and capitalise on the growing opportunities in the region.”
DHL Trade Atlas 2025 highlights potential optimism for the future of global trade, notwithstanding recent developments in US trade policies. One factor for this is that the US currently has a 13 per cent share of world imports and 9.0 per cent of exports. Other highlights of the report include:
- Recent forecasts predict global goods trade will grow at a compound annual rate of 3.1 per cent from 2024-2029.
- Global trade is expected to grow over the next five years, albeit at a slower pace.
- Despite direct US–China trade having fallen from 3.5 per cent of world trade (2016) to 2.6 per cent (first nine months of 2024), US reliance on made-in-China content has not declined substantially.
- Trade took place over the longest average distance on record during the first nine months of 2024 (5,000km), while trade inside major geographic regions declined to a new low (51 per cent).
- From 2024-2029 India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are forecast to rank among the top 30 for both speed (growth rate) and scale (absolute amount) of trade growth.
- The fastest trade volume growth from 2024 to 2029 is forecast for South & Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the ASEAN countries.
In other news, Singapore Post is boosting its e-commerce capacity.
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