Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday welcomed the city’s third-place in a renowned global competitiveness ranking, saying it indicates that the government is on the right track and that policies have yielded positive results.

The Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) issued its annual world competitiveness ranking on Tuesday. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region rose two places and ranked third globally out of 69 economies, marking its first return to the top three since 2019.

The city scored 99.2 out of 100 in the overall ranking, a 7.7-point year-on-year increase that represents the highest jump among the top 10 economies, second only to Switzerland, which scored 100, and Singapore’s 99.4.

Hong Kong also achieved better performances in major sub-rankings, with governance efficiency rising from third to second place, business efficiency increasing to second from seventh, economic performance from 11th to sixth, and infrastructure climbing from ninth to seventh.

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Speaking ahead of the weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee said Hong Kong’s climb up in the rankings reflects universal recognition of the city’s world-class business environment, legal system, tax policy, and financial services as well as the free flows of people, data and capital.

The achievement proves that the governance of the SAR government is moving in the right direction, and policies put forward by the administration have achieved positive results, Lee noted.

Lee said he is encouraged by the fact that the efficiency of the Hong Kong government was rated as the second best in the world, saying it demonstrates the expertise of the city’s public servants and the effectiveness of his efforts in cultivating a “result-oriented” culture in the government.

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Hong Kong is currently in an economic transformation period, according to Lee, and some industries are facing challenges, such as the retail and catering sectors.

The authorities will continue to support different sectors and utilize the roles of superconnectors and super value creators to explore new markets, boost the economy, promote development and improve people's livelihoods.

Public consultation for the new Policy Address began on Monday. Lee said he looks forward to receiving opinions from the public and all sectors to assist him in formulating this year's Policy Address.