29/08/2026
Hong Kong’s cross-border trade is not simply becoming more digital. It is becoming more dependent on the systems that make digital trade possible.
Recently, Mrs. Emily represented BBCIncorp at The Future of Hong Kong Trade: From Adopting to Advancing, hosted by Airwallex and hktdc.com Sourcing. The discussions and latest research offered a deeper perspective on how technology is reshaping cross-border trade, while highlighting what this shift means for businesses operating across markets.
A few numbers make the shift particularly clear:
⚡AI adoption has risen from 25% to 79% among Hong Kong’s cross-border trading companies in just 12 months.
⚡67% plan to increase their AI usage over the next year, while only 1% expect to scale back.
⚡Nearly 80% expect to increase online sourcing, suggesting that digital procurement is moving closer to the norm.
⚡Around 60% now use fintech platforms for cross-border payments, with fintech adoption having roughly tripled over the past year.
⚡At the same time, 63% cite fraud and security as their biggest concern when using fintech, while 42% point to regulatory compliance.
Taken together, these findings tell a more interesting story than simply “businesses are adopting more technology”.
They suggest that technology is becoming increasingly embedded in how businesses operate, from sourcing and payments to finance and decision-making. But as more of the business moves through digital systems, the quality of the underlying structure matters more, not less.
This is where the shift from adopting to advancing becomes meaningful.
Adoption is about bringing a new capability into the business. Advancement is about making that capability work within a larger operating system, alongside the financial, regulatory, security and organisational foundations that allow the business to scale.
For international businesses, this distinction matters.
The question is gradually moving beyond “What technology should we adopt?” to a more fundamental one:
“Is the business built to support the way it now wants to operate?”
Technology can make a business faster. Digital platforms can make cross-border activity more accessible. AI can expand what teams are capable of doing.
But none of these remove the need for a sound foundation.
In fact, the more connected a business becomes, the more important that foundation may be.
The next chapter of Hong Kong trade may not be about becoming more digital. It may be about becoming structurally ready for what digital trade now demands.
![[Client Story of the Week]We came across this feedback today, and it genuinely made our day.We’re grateful to have had t...](https://img4.businesses10.com/893/714/122186117768937147.jpg)
