Hong Kong's healthcare sector has experienced remarkable growth, surging by nearly 30% over the past decade, with the total number of related businesses now exceeding 3,000 companies according to a comprehensive new study by HKTDC Research. The report, titled "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," demonstrates that Hong Kong is successfully collaborating with key Guangdong GBA cities and Macao in biomedical innovation, with this collective endeavor positioned for sustained growth.
The research, produced alongside "Seizing GBA Opportunities: Biomedical Co-operation and Development" in partnership with the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, shows Hong Kong has developed a sizable pharmaceutical and medical device cluster, growing from 2,340 related companies in 2013 to 3,020 in 2023. HKTDC Research Director Irina Fan emphasized that "technological innovation has been a key driver of Hong Kong's economic growth, allowing it to effectively align with the national prioritisation of new quality productive forces." The Guangdong Government has announced ambitious action plans to grow its biomedical and healthcare industry cluster by approximately 50% by 2027, increasing its value from RMB 664 billion in 2023 to more than a trillion yuan.
Hong Kong's status as a leading international financial center provides comprehensive funding opportunities for global biotech businesses. As of June 2025, total market capitalization of the Hong Kong-listed healthcare sector reached US$441 billion, accounting for approximately 8.1% of the total market cap of Hong Kong-listed companies. This represents a threefold increase from the US$144 billion figure recorded at the end of 2017, prior to the launch of the HKEX Chapter 18A regime. Since the Chapter 18A listing rules came into effect—allowing biotech firms without recorded revenue or profits to list—73 biotech companies have listed, collectively raising US$16 billion as of mid-2025.
Beyond financial resources, Hong Kong offers technical capabilities that significantly benefit GBA businesses expanding throughout mainland China and into overseas markets. The city's advanced clinical trial services yield internationally accepted data, making Hong Kong an ideal launchpad for regional healthcare ventures looking to go global. Clinical data from Hong Kong-based trials has been approved by world-leading regulatory bodies including the US Food and Drug Administration, the EU's European Medicines Agency, and Mainland China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Several Hong Kong healthcare institutions, including Queen Mary Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong Eye Hospital, and Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, have secured NMPA accreditation.
The World Intellectual Property Organization designated the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster as the world's leading innovation hub in its 2025 Global Innovation Index, recognizing biotechnology's lead role within this cutting-edge cluster. Hong Kong's biotech and health start-up sectors have shown extraordinary growth, more than quadrupling from 110 to 510 companies between 2018 and 2024, while their share of the city's total start-up ecosystem rose from 4% to 11%. This growth includes pioneering businesses in drug development, gene editing technology, medical device innovation, and precision medical solutions.
HKTDC Research Senior Economist Cherry Yeung highlighted that "Hong Kong is already seamlessly connected with many of the pharmaceutical manufacturers and markets in Mainland China, thanks to its strengths in R&D and international trade," while GBA cities provide considerable production and resource support, creating synergy across the board. With Guangdong committed to further expanding its biomedical sector, this collaboration fosters a new generation of cross-industry cooperation with global significance.
