Hong Kong trails Asia in trade credit use at 39%

Manufacturing firms across Asia drive the same bad debt pattern.

Hong Kong businesses made 39% of business-to-business (B2B) sales on trade credit in 2026, with the remaining 61% paid in cash, according to Atradius's B2B Payment Practices Trends in Asia report.

This puts the city below the regional average of 43% trade credit and 57% cash, and close to China, which recorded the lowest trade credit share in Asia at 38%.

The retreat from credit sales comes as Hong Kong companies recorded an increase in credit losses from unpaid B2B receivables, the report found. 

It places the region amongst the markets most affected by the write-off increase, alongside a broader rise reported by manufacturing firms across Asia.

Businesses also expressed caution over near-term payment behaviour, with the report grouping Hong Kong with Taiwan and Japan as markets showing more guarded sentiment on whether B2B customer payments will improve in the coming months.

This contrasts to the report’s more optimistic outlooks in Vietnam, India, and Indonesia.

On insolvency risk, Hong Kong firms diverged from that caution, revealing that the region, alongside Japan, is less concerned about insolvency risk, with most firms in these markets expecting stability.

The report places Hong Kong at odds with Indonesia, China, and Taiwan, where insolvency concern runs higher.

Inflation and cost pressures rank as a leading risk to B2B payment behaviour, with the report grouping the market with Taiwan as it faces persistent cost burdens.

The findings draw on 2,145 interviews conducted across eight Asian markets during the second half of the second quarter of 2026, using computer-assisted web interviews with accounts receivable contacts.