The number of healthcare sector businesses in Hong Kong has surpassed 3,000, a 30% increase over 10 years, according to HKTDC Research.
In addition, between 2018 and 2024 the number of Hong Kong-based biotech and healthtech start-ups has more than quadrupled from 110 to 510, bringing the sector’s share of all start-ups to 11%, up from 4% in 2018.
The start-ups include pioneering firms in drug development, gene editing, medical device innovation and precision medicine.
A key driver behind the growth is the wide array of funding opportunities available in Hong Kong due to its status as a leading international financial centre.
As of June 2025, the market capitalisation of Hong Kong-listed healthcare companies was US$441 billion – around 8% of the total listed market cap – tripling the US$144 billion figure recorded at the end of 2017, pre-dating the launch of the HKEX Chapter 18A regime.
Since the introduction of Chapter 18A listing rules – which allow biotech firms without revenue or profit to raise funds – 73 companies have gone public, collectively raising US$16 billion by mid-2025.
Beyond financial capital, the city’s advanced clinical trial capabilities yield internationally accepted data, positioning Hong Kong as the ideal launchpad for regional healthcare ventures aiming to scale globally, according to HKTDC Deputy Director of Research Wing Chu.
Data from Hong Kong-based clinical trials is accepted by leading regulatory bodies, including the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency and Mainland China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).
In addition, several of the city’s top healthcare institutions, including Queen Mary Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong Eye Hospital and Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, have secured NMPA accreditation.
Hong Kong in step with nearby cities
Two research reports from HKTDC Research – I&T Cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: Hong Kong Partners with Mainland Cities in Advancing Biomedical Upgrade in the GBA and Seizing GBA Opportunities: Biomedical Co-operation and Development – highlight growing collaboration between Hong Kong biomedical and health enterprises and their counterparts in key cities across the GBA.
Just as Hong Kong has developed a sizable pharmaceutical and medical device cluster over recent years, so too is Guangdong Province accelerating the development of complementary resources, according to HKTDC Research Director Irina Fan.
She noted the Guangdong Government plans to grow its biomedical and healthcare industry cluster by around 50% by 2027, increasing its value from RMB 664 billion in 2023 to over RMB 1 trillion. A central pillar of this strategy is leveraging the strengths of the Hong Kong platform – including its clinical research capabilities, regulatory recognition and financial infrastructure – to drive integration and innovation.
“Sharing our expertise with partner cities across the GBA, with a particular focus on the biomedical field, presents a huge opportunity with immense benefits – nationally and even globally,” Ms Fan said.
Adding momentum to this collaboration, the World Intellectual Property Organization recently named the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou city cluster the world’s leading innovation hub in its 2025 Global Innovation Index. This recognition reflects, in part, the pivotal role biotechnology plays within the region’s dynamic innovation ecosystem.