EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report, Italian Companies’ Asian Expansion Priorities: Innovation, Healthcare and Retail Sectors presents the results of an original survey conducted by the Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). The study provides a comprehensive overview of Italian companies’ current business engagement with Asia, their strategies for future expansion in the region, while examining how Hong Kong, the premier gateway to Asia, could support Italian business activities on the Chinese Mainland, as well as more broadly throughout Asia.

Hong Kong remains one of the world’s most open and service-ori­ented economies, characterised by a stable monetary system, low taxation, and a robust legal and regulatory framework. In 2025, the city confirmed its status as a major global financial and trade centre, ranking among the top economies worldwide for investment inflows and innovation performance. Hong Kong’s economy is supported by rising exports, a rebound in tourism, and strong connections with the Chinese Mainland, particularly through the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the Guang­dong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development strategy.

The government’s focus on innovation, sustainability, and new indus­trialisation – together with ambitious policies in green transition and healthcare digitalisation – positions Hong Kong as a dynamic platform for technology and investment cooperation. Hong Kong’s new indus­tries focus on innovation, technology, and several emerging sectors, including Fintech, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science, Life and Health Technology (in particular, biotech), Advanced Manufacturing, and New Energy Technology. The Hong Kong government also set up the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) in late 2022 to help attracting overseas companies in the priority sectors setting up operations in Hong Kong.

The ICCF-HKTDC online survey gathered insights from 172 Italian com­panies operating in Asia, the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong. The sample consisted mainly of consolidated enterprises: 60% have been active in Asia for more than 10 years, and respondents were C-suite and senior business leaders. The nature of the participants ensured that the findings reflect experienced, long‑term business perspectives. The companies surveyed operate across a broad range of sectors, including innovation and technology, healthcare, retail and wholesale, industrial goods and machinery.

Overall, the survey clearly indicated that Italian businesses are keen to expand in Asia, with 77% of respondents planning future Asia ex­pansion, with the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong (73%) emerging as top destinations. This indicates that, geopolitical uncertainties and new regional economic dynamics aside, China remains of primary im­portance to Italian businesses. Diversification, however, is increasing, with many companies also targetting the ASEAN bloc (39%) (such as Singapore and Indonesia) and other Asian markets (39%) (such as Ja­pan and South Korea).

In terms of industry sectors, Italian tech and healthcare companies were the most enthusiastic when it comes to Asian expansion. In all, 95% of Italian innovation and technology companies plan to expand in Asia, followed by 88% of healthcare companies and 86% of retail /wholesale companies.

Italian companies see Hong Kong as playing a vital role in facilitating their expansion plans in Asia. Overall, 93% of the respondents believe Hong Kong could effectively support their company’s Asia expansion over the next three years. This underscores the continuing recognition of Hong Kong’ as the primary strategic gateway for accessing many of the Asian markets (47%). This is, particularly, in terms of its logistics and supply chain management capabilities (41%), as well as the key advantages offered by its tax system, connectivity, stability, and eco­nomic openness.

Taken together, Italian companies see Hong Kong as a highly compet­itive international business hub, with 95% of respondents considering it Asia’s premier international business hub, and more than 62% deem­ing the city as competitive or extremely competitive when it comes to attracting investment and high‑end talent and fostering innovation on a global basis.

The study also reveals limited awareness regarding Asian trade frame­works. In fact, only slightly more than half of respondents reported that they are currently benefitting from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Similarly, in the case of CEPA, most companies were not familiar with the agreement (80%). It was, how­ever, notable that a considerable proportion (39%) expressed interest in knowing more about CEPA. These results suggest that there may be a significant information gap relating to the opportunities on offer from Asia’s economic integration frameworks, highlighting a real opportunity for enhancing business awareness and institutional communication.

Overall, Hong Kong continues to be perceived by Italian enterprises as a strategic, reliable, and innovation-driven business hub. Yet, to attract a broader range of Italian firms – particularly SMEs – greater institu­tional support, information sharing, and partnership facilitation are needed. Strengthening these channels will enable more companies to benefit from Hong Kong’s position as the bridge between Europe, the Chinese Mainland, and the wider Asia‑Pacific region.