Image Source: Pexels

Key Benchmarks Performance

US Philadelphia SE Semiconductors index posted an outstanding performance of 12.4% among global markets in September. Among all Asia markets, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the best outperforming markets and posted 7.5%, 7.1% and 6.6% in September, separately, while Philippine, Vietnam and Australia posted negative return. For the year-to-date period (as of 2025/09/30), Korea, Hong Kong and Vietnam were the best outperforming markets in Asia, posted 42.7%, 33.9% and 31.2%, respectively, while Thailand, Philippine and Malaysia were the bottom performing markets and posted negative return of 9%, 8.8% and 1.9%, separately. US S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite Index hit a record high and posted positive returns of 13.7% and 17.3% separately.

Table 1: Global Key Benchmarks Performance

(Click on image to enlarge)

Asset Types Analysis

The total 376 Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) registered for sale in Hong Kong posted positive return of 3.3% on average in September of 2025 (as of 2025/09/30). Across all fund types, the average returns were 16.6% (YTD), 12.2% (1Y), 42.2% (3Y), and 23.3%(5Y). Equity funds outperformed other asset types, with a 1-month return of 5.5% and a YTD return of 25.9%. The 1-year and 3-year averages were strong at 20% and 63.3%, respectively. Over 5 years, equity funds also delivered the highest average return of 38.1%. Equity funds consistently delivered the strongest returns across all timeframes.

Hong Kong MPF Performance by LGC Analysis

There are overall 376 Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) registered for sale in Hong Kong market with a total 24 Lipper Global Classifications. Among all 24 classifications, Equity Greater China, Equity China, Equity Hong Kong and Equity Korea posted 8.8%, 8.2%, 7.8% and 7.1% on average, separately and took the leading positions among all MPF classifications in September. For the year-to-date (as of 2025/09/30), Equity Korea, Equity Hong Kong and Equity Greater China posted an outstanding performance with an average return of 62.1%, 37.8% and 37.7%, separately while Money Market CNY posted negative return of 0.1%.

Figure1：Top/Bottom 10 Hong Kong MPF Performance by Lipper Global Classifications, September 2025

(Click on image to enlarge)

Source：LSEG Lipper, as of 2025/09/30, in Hong Kong Dollar

Figure2：Top/Bottom 10 Hong Kong MPF Performance by Lipper Global Classifications, Year-to-Date (as of 2025/09/30)

(Click on image to enlarge)

Source：LSEG Lipper, as of 2025/09/30, in Hong Kong Dollar

Outlook

According to the data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), Hong Kong’s tourism sector maintained its positive momentum in September, with provisional visitor arrivals nearing 3.3 million, an 8 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Hong Kong recorded more than 36 million tourist arrivals in the first three quarters of 2025, a 12 percent rise from a year earlier. Arrivals from the Chinese mainland rose 11 percent to about 28 million during the January-September period, while visitors from non-mainland markets jumped 16 percent to 8.5 million. Mainland China remained the largest source of visitors. In September, arrivals from the mainland reached 2.45 million, accounting for the bulk of all tourists and representing a 7 percent increase. For the January-September period, mainland visitor arrivals stood at approximately 28 million, an 11 percent growth compared to a year earlier. The non-mainland market posted a 9 percent growth in September. This segment was notably driven by long-haul markets and new markets, which saw impressive increases of 14 percent and 13 percent respectively. For the January-September period, non-mainland visitor arrivals climbed to nearly 8.5 million, a substantial 16 percent year-on-year increase.

Investors are now turning their attention to China-US tensions and China’s economic slowdown. An intensification of US-China trade frictions, marked by a 9 October expansion of Chinese export controls on rare earth elements, and President Donald Trump’s subsequent threat of an additional 100% tariff on US imports from China, underscores the deepening mistrust between the world’s two largest economies.

More By This Author: