Hong Kong was for several years consistently rated as one of the best places in the world to do business by a number of influential comparative international assessments.The Fraser Institute, Economic Freedom of the World Report (Vancouver: Fraser Institute, various years), Heritage Foundation, Index of Economic Freedom (Washington, D.C.: Heritage Foundation and Dow Jones & Company, Inc., various years), International Institute for Management Development, World Competitiveness Yearbook (Lausanne: International Institute for Management Development, various years), World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report (New York: Oxford University Press, various years), Economist Intelligence Unit, Global Country Forecast (London: Economist Intelligence Unit, various years). However, most of these periodic assessments have recently downgraded Hong Kong, citing government actions as the main reason. This article addresses two questions suggested by Hong Kong's apparent decline: does its government understand what the factors are that had hitherto made Hong Kong such an advantageous business location; and are such factors susceptible to preservation and enhancement by government action?