Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Sunday said international businesses are looking to beef up investments in Hong Kong, but made the prediction that 2023 will be a “challenging” year.

Writing on his official blog, Chan said the global economic environment this year remains volatile, citing a list of factors, including increasing debt, slowing growth, and weakening investment sentiment in major economies.

He also noted that the economic situation in Europe is concerning because of the ongoing energy crisis.

However, Chan said many participants in the Asian Financial Forum, held in Hong Kong last week, had a relatively positive view of the Asian economy.

The financial secretary said he met many business representatives during the forum, adding that they were thrilled to see Hong Kong easing its border controls with the mainland and overseas.

Chan said the forum had boosted the confidence of international financial institutions towards the SAR, and participants are actively considering increasing their investments and scaling up their operations in the SAR.

Chan left for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Saturday night, and said he would actively promote Hong Kong's tremendous opportunities there.