According to greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets, the number of companies establishing headquarters in Hong Kong as FDI projects has declined considerably between January 2009 and August 2014.

In addition to locations such as Singapore, Australia and China, Hong Kong has long been favoured by multinational corporations as a prime location to establish Asia-Pacific headquarters. In 2009, 34 investing companies established headquarters in Hong Kong, with the creation of 3555 jobs. In 2010, this number declined considerably to 12, with the creation of 963 jobs. This represents a 64.7% decrease in companies investing and a 72.9% decrease in jobs created.

Two successive years of recovery in 2011 and 2012 resulted in an increase in companies investing to 14 in 2011 and to 20 in 2012, with 1372 and 1983 jobs created, respectively. However, 2013, saw a further decrease in FDI in this area with seven investing companies establishing headquarters and 619 jobs created. This is a considerable decrease from 2012 figures, with a 65% drop in companies investing and a 68.8% decline in jobs created, and a 79.4% and 82.6% decline, respectively, for companies investing and jobs created compared with 2009.

The most recent figures for 2014, with eight full months of data published, show that five companies have established headquarters in Hong Kong, with 495 jobs created. With a further four months of data to be recorded for the year, it is possible that FDI levels in this area will surpass 2013 levels, but it is highly unlikely that it will reach levels seen in the years prior to this.