The number of businesses in Hong Kong with parent companies located outside the city stands at 8,978 in 2022, according to an annual survey released by Invest Hong Kong and the Census & Statistics Department today.

Of the 8,978 companies, 1,411 operate as regional headquarters, 2,397 as regional offices and 5,170 as local offices.

In terms of where these companies came from, the Mainland ranked first with 2,114 companies, followed by Japan with 1,388, the US with 1,258, the UK with 655 and Singapore with 463.

By sector, import and export trade, wholesale and retail topped the list with 4,170 companies, followed by financing and banking with 1,683 and professional, business and education services with 1,308.

In terms of jobs, the number of people engaged by these companies was about 468,000 in 2022.