A container barge sails in the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, south China, April 30, 2023. (Photo/Chen Duo, Xinhua)

Hong Kong - Hong Kong climbed two places to rank fifth in the latest World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024 published by the International Institute for Management Development, a business school headquartered in Switzerland, said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Tuesday.

In a breakdown by four competitiveness factors put forth by the report, Hong Kong's rankings in "Business efficiency" and "Infrastructure" both rose notably to the top 10 globally. The city ranks in the top three in terms of "Government efficiency", while its place under the "Economic performance" metric saw significant improvement that reflected its economic recovery in 2023.

Regarding sub-factors, Hong Kong topped the world in "International trade" and "Business legislation", and was among the global top five in "Tax policy", "International investment", "Basic infrastructure", "Finance" and "Education."

"Having taken into account a host of factors including objective data and business opinions, the report recognized Hong Kong as one of the most competitive economies in the world," said a spokesperson for the HKSAR government.

The HKSAR government has launched an array of measures to bolster market confidence, tourism and consumption to consolidate the momentum of economic recovery. The city is also advancing high-quality economic development in the medium to long run by attracting enterprises, capital and talent from around the world as well as nurturing new quality productive forces, the spokesperson said.

Looking forward, Hong Kong will continue to cultivate new growth areas and enhance competitiveness while acting as a "super-connector" and a "super value-adder", the spokesperson added.