In the third quarter, the "Standard Chartered Hong Kong SME Leading Business Index" comprehensive business index fell to 40.5. Experts predict that growth in the second half of the year will be more moderate.

According to the Zhitong Financial APP, on August 19, the Hong Kong Productivity Council released the "Standard Chartered Hong Kong SME Leading Business Index 2025" for the third quarter. The survey results show that there is still uncertainty in the global economic environment, with the "business conditions" and "profit performance" indices falling to 36.6 and 34.1 respectively, reflecting a slight decrease in confidence among local SMEs in this quarter's business volume. The overall business index fell by 3.3 to 40.5. Standard Chartered Bank's Senior Economist for Greater China and North Asia, Mr. Liu Jianheng, pointed out that the index shows that after a strong start in the first half of the year, the growth of the Hong Kong economy in the second half of the year will be more moderate.