The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) saw a steady rise in newly registered companies last year, the latest evidence that the city continues to gain traction among international investors, the HKSAR government announced Monday.

A total of 960 non-Hong Kong companies set up a place of business in Hong Kong last year, bringing the total number of non-Hong Kong companies to 14,826 by the end of 2023, up 2.02 percent year on year, the Companies Registry of the HKSAR government said in a statement.

A total of 132,246 local companies were newly registered last year, bringing the total number of registered local companies to more than 1.4 million by the end of 2023, increasing by 39,080 compared to 2022, the registry said.

Yang Yuchuan, chief economist with Prime China Securities, said that the number of registered companies in Hong Kong reflected the unabated interest of both domestic and foreign investors in Hong Kong, as the HKSAR government steps up efforts to actively attract investment and improve the business environment.

China's economic fundamentals are still solid and that will add to the investors' confidence in Hong Kong's economic recovery, he added.