Philstar.com
November 24, 2025 | 9:42am
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine tech scene remains a bright spot. While venture capital has slowed across Southeast Asia, the Philippines continues to attract investor interest, securing $86.4 million in funding in the first half of 2025.
This performance placed the country fourth in the region, even as overall equity investments fell 20.7% to a six-year low, according to DealStreet’s Southeast Asia Startup Funding Report.
But this success brings a new challenge: scaling up. Philippine companies are great at getting started, but they often struggle to find the massive investments and support needed to expand globally.
For ambitious tech and fintech founders, the question is no longer how to win in the Philippines, but how to conquer the world.
The good thing? The answer could be just a two-hour flight away. Hong Kong offers a purpose-built platform to help high-growth Philippine firms make that global leap.
Leveraging Hong Kong
Hong Kong presents a purpose-built platform for this global leap, not merely as another market to enter, but as a strategic springboard. It has been tested and proven by the region’s most ambitious ventures, from high-growth tech unicorns to established family conglomerates.
For instance, Singapore’s unicorn car marketplace, Carro, leverages Hong Kong as a key market in its regional operations and has attracted investment from Hong Kong-based firms to fuel its expansion.
The city’s appeal extends far beyond technology, with ventures in consumer products, creative industries, and more choosing it as their base.
Most tellingly, even the Philippines’ most established business families are making the move, signaling a powerful vote of confidence.
The Kho family, a major Philippine conglomerate, recently established its family office in Hong Kong to manage its portfolio of over $3 billion. They cited their “unwavering confidence” in the city as a leading international financial center and its vital role as a gateway to Chinese Mainland.
So, when serious capital seeks global reach, many turn to Hong Kong. But why exactly?
The ‘super-connector’ advantage
Hong Kong’s power comes from its unique “One Country, Two Systems” setup. This gives Philippine firms the best of both worlds: access to China’s massive market while operating under a familiar, international business system trusted by global investors.
This guarantees key advantages:
- A common law legal system that protects property, contracts and ideas
- Free flow of money, information and talent with no currency restrictions
- A simple and low-tax system protected by law
This setup is a smart way to structure a business. A Philippine company can set up its global headquarters in Hong Kong to protect its international money and intellectual property, and at the same time, it can manage its operation in Chinese Mainland.
For any company wanting to grow in Asia, getting into Chinese Mainland is essential. Hong Kong is the main gateway to China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA)—a massive economic zone with over 87 million people and a GDP of $1.67 trillion.
By setting up in Hong Kong, Philippine firms can sell products directly to millions of customers in the GBA, collaborate on R&D with top Chinese tech firms in the region’s “innovation corridor”, and most importantly, access Global capital.
Companies are also encouraged to seek investment and list on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, the number one global IPO hub.
InvestHK: Partner in making a name outside the Philippines
Understanding the strategic “why” of choosing Hong Kong is the first step.
The practical “how” is made remarkably simple by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the dedicated government department responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment. It is like a “GPS for businesses to help every “driver”—that is, every entrepreneur—chart the best route, avoid obstacles, and move forward with speed and confidence.
It offers free of charge hands-on support through every stage of a company’s expansion—from the initial concept and registration process to offering guidance on visa and immigration policies, tax and legal requirements, and market entry strategies.
InvestHK conducted a visit to the Philippines with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta (HKETO Jakarta) earlier this year to promote Hong Kong’s latest business opportunities.
“We want to see more opportunities, particularly for tech companies and entrepreneurs, to expand overseas and Hong Kong is the best place to do it,” Alpha Lau, director-general for Investment Promotion at InvestHK, said in a Philippine media roundtable during her visit.
“Companies come to Hong Kong because we want them to win, to make money, and to make a name for themselves outside of the Philippines,” she said.
For the Philippines’ most ambitious founders, the path to going global has never been clearer.
With accessible funding, a pro-business tax system and direct access to the world’s largest market just across the border, everything is in place. Hong Kong offers a powerful, synergistic platform where every essential element for international success is aligned. All that’s left is to take the leap—because the springboard to global success is waiting in Hong Kong.
Editor’s Note: This #BrandSpace story is created with Invest Hong Kong. It is produced by the Advertising Content Team that is independent from our Editorial Newsroom.
