While traces of its past can still be found in the fishing villages scattered in its outlying islands, Hong Kong has emerged from a post-war manufacturing base to a major financial and services centre featuring state-of-the-art infrastructure and highly efficient business services. Its stock market capitalisation is only second to Japan in Asia. The stock market of Hong Kong provides a wide variety of products ranging from ordinary shares to options, warrants, unit trusts and debt securities.

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At the end of December 2013 Hong Kong had nearly 160 licensed banks, of which nearly 150 are foreign owned. Of the world's top 100 banks, 70 operate there.

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Hong Kong enjoys a robust and stable financial regime, exemplifying the vitality and dynamism of an open and free economy that has the prowess of prospering in an ever-changing global political economy. In particular, the Hong Kong dollar, which is 100% backed by US dollars, has demonstrated remarkable stability since the introduction of the linked exchange rate system in the early 1980's.