AI investment in Greater China to hit US$102.9b by 2028: report

42% of Hong Kong organisations plan to implement AI agents within the next six months.

Artificial intelligence (AI) investment across Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan is projected to climb to US$102.9b by 2028, representing a major share of Asia Pacific’s expected US$176b in total AI spending, according to automation software firm UiPath.

The report highlighted Hong Kong as a growing hub for AI adoption, with 43% of organisations already using AI agents—autonomous software tools capable of executing tasks and decisions.

Another 42% of Hong Kong organisations plan to implement them within the next six months.

Across the region, companies are shifting from small-scale AI testing to enterprise-wide deployment, motivated by the need to improve productivity, decision-making, and service delivery.

Among those already using AI agents, 67% reported higher productivity, whilst 65% cite improved decision-making. Industries leading adoption in Hong Kong and the broader region include manufacturing, retail and wholesale, and healthcare.

Despite growing adoption, the report notes several challenges slowing widespread implementation. Data security concerns top the list, flagged by 63% of respondents, followed by a shortage of skilled IT talent (49%) and ethical and regulatory risks (48%).

Business leaders are also wary of AI agents acting autonomously, citing risks around system transparency and potential misuse.

Still, interest in agentic AI—a category of AI that integrates with robotic process automation (RPA) to autonomously manage complex tasks—is rising. 66% of surveyed organisations are actively developing use cases, even without having made large investments.

UiPath described agentic automation as a key enabler of scalable, secure AI adoption across enterprises.