Hong Kong Securities Industry Association survey: 53% of respondents are optimistic about the Hong Kong stock market this year.

The Hong Kong Securities Association released the results of the 2026 Capital Markets Survey, with Association Chairman Wu Qi stating that 53% of respondents hold an optimistic view of the Hong Kong stock market this year. 42% believe that Hong Kong is the most worthwhile market to invest in 2026, and 60% believe that the daily trading volume of Hong Kong stocks this year will reach between HK$200.1 billion and HK$250 billion. 38% believe that the outperforming sector this year will be the financial services industry, and 49% believe that the Hang Seng Index will increase by 5-20% this year. The association's member survey was conducted from January 13 to 23 this year, with a total of 152 responses received. 43% of respondents stated that their companies will maintain salaries this year, 8% expect salary cuts, and 24% of respondents expect a salary increase of 0-3%. Wu Qi pointed out that in terms of the operations of participants in the Hong Kong financial services industry, 41% of respondents stated that their companies remained breakeven over the past year, 55% stated that brokerage business was the main source of income in the past year, and 60% stated that information technology was the largest cost increase. 70% believe that companies will hire more staff, with information technology personnel being the target of increased hiring. In addition, 47% of respondents stated that the biggest challenges they faced over the past year were competition and declining revenue, followed by regulatory compliance pressure (28%), and network security and data privacy (14%). 56% believe that geopolitical factors are the biggest uncertainty facing the Hong Kong financial market in 2026, followed by regulatory environment trends (18%) and market competition (12%). 48% believe that securities market reform is the most effective way to enhance Hong Kong's financial competitiveness, followed by artificial intelligence in financial applications (12%) and asset and wealth management (11%).