Economist Impact: Hong Kong ranks fifth in digital resilience in Asia-Pacific, with improvements needed in technology, infrastructure, and risk management.

The global economic environment is becoming increasingly complex, and digital resilience has become a core indicator for companies to maintain competitiveness. According to the latest research from Economist Impact, Hong Kong ranks fifth in overall digital resilience in the Asia-Pacific region, but still faces two core challenges for achieving growth in the next stage: a high dependence on outdated facilities and insufficient testing of recovery mechanisms. The study visited 11 markets and 7 industries in the Asia-Pacific region, surveying over 1400 senior management. The research introduced the "Digital Resilience Index" to assess capabilities in five categories: external environment, technology and infrastructure, risk management, leadership, and talent and cultural flexibility. Hong Kong ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of "external environment", and fourth in leadership and talent and cultural flexibility; but ranks lower in technology and infrastructure (fifth) and risk management (seventh). The survey shows that 62% of respondents in Hong Kong stated that their companies still heavily rely on outdated facilities that need to be replaced, ranking second in the Asia-Pacific region, significantly higher than the average of 52%. These outdated systems weaken a company's ability to respond during emergencies. Although 78% of the companies surveyed have formulated digital or network resilience strategies, only a few companies have established and regularly tested overall recovery mechanisms. In addition, only 36% of companies actively participate in government-driven cybersecurity awareness and digital training programs, reflecting a gap between policy goals and actual implementation. Charles Ross, Director of Policy and Insights for Economist Impact in Asia-Pacific, stated that Hong Kong has made progress in building digital resilience, but the speed of improvement in recovery capability is not synchronized. Companies must ensure that new technologies are flexible and rigorously tested, and then integrate them into core decision-making processes in order to respond quickly under pressure. Roary Stasko, CEO of Telstra International, pointed out that the key to the digital future of Hong Kong lies in effectively harnessing digital resilience. In a market based on speed and interconnectedness, recovery time and operational resilience will be key competitive advantages. He emphasized that the immediate task for large enterprises is to accelerate the modernization of old systems, strengthen recovery capabilities, and strategically incorporate digital resilience into technology investment decisions from the outset. Companies need to make strategic shifts in digital planning, construction, and funding allocation in order to address the gap in digital resilience in Hong Kong.