The Future of Hong Kong Trade: Insights for Global Businesses

Cross-border business is becoming more accessible. A company can reach overseas customers, source from international suppliers, and manage cross-border payments without building the same physical presence that international expansion once required.

For Vietnamese businesses, this creates a significant shift. The barrier to entering an overseas market is becoming lower, but the requirements for operating across markets are becoming more interconnected.

This was one of the broader perspectives reinforced at The Future of Hong Kong Trade: From Adopting to Advancing, hosted by Airwallex and HKTDC, where Mrs. Emily represented BBCIncorp. The event offered a timely view of how technology is moving cross-border trade beyond simple digital adoption and toward new ways of operating.

The latest Hong Kong Trade Report illustrates the speed of that transition:

• AI adoption increased from 25% to 79% within 12 months.
• 67% of businesses plan to increase their use of AI over the next year.
• Nearly 80% expect to increase online sourcing.
• Around 60% now use fintech for cross-border transactions, with adoption roughly tripling over the past year.

These numbers matter not only because they show faster technology adoption. They also show how quickly international business activity is becoming digital by default.

The new entry point

For a growing business, international expansion can begin with something relatively simple: an overseas order, a new supplier, or a cross-border payment.

Technology makes each of these activities easier to initiate. But once they become recurring parts of the business, they are no longer isolated transactions. They start creating connections between finance, operations, suppliers, customers, and regulatory requirements.

This is where the nature of expansion changes.

A business that sells occasionally to another country may not need the same infrastructure as one that manages customers, suppliers and financial activity across several markets. The latter needs a business model that can support those activities consistently.

For Vietnamese businesses exploring international growth, recognising this transition early can be more important than simply adopting the latest technology.

Beyond technology adoption

The growing adoption of AI and fintech demonstrates how quickly businesses are gaining access to new capabilities. Yet technology does not remove the responsibilities that come with cross-border activity.

The report reflects this clearly. 63% of respondents identify fraud and security as their biggest concern when using fintech, while 42% cite regulatory compliance.

These concerns sit alongside rapid digital adoption. Businesses are therefore not choosing between technology and governance. They are having to build both at the same time.

For a business expanding internationally, this means looking beyond whether a particular tool can solve an operational problem. It also means considering how that tool fits into the wider way the business manages money, entities, compliance and day-to-day operations across markets.

Building for international growth

The most meaningful shift from adopting to advancing may therefore happen when technology stops being an add-on and becomes part of how the business operates.

For Vietnamese businesses, that transition can mark an important difference between having an international revenue stream and building an international business.

The first may be achieved through digital channels. The second requires a supporting structure that can handle greater operational and regulatory complexity as the business grows.

This does not necessarily mean building a more complicated setup. It means ensuring that the foundations of the business can evolve as its international activities become more significant.

The takeaway for Vietnamese businesses

The developments discussed at The Future of Hong Kong Trade: From Adopting to Advancing reflect a wider change in the global business environment. Technology is making international trade more accessible, but it is also making cross-border operations more interconnected.

For Vietnamese businesses, this creates an opportunity to think about international expansion differently. The goal is not simply to use technology to reach another market faster. It is to build the capability to operate across markets as that activity grows.

The next stage of internationalisation may therefore be less about how quickly a business can enter a new market, and more about how well it can build around that growth once it gets there.