The SAR government on Tuesday said that the assessment methodologies from a World Bank Group pilot report this year might have resulted in "outdated and unfair" comparisons. This came after the group released its second pilot "Business Ready 2025 Report", which placed Hong Kong in the top 20 – among 100 economies – in the "operational efficiency" category. The report also ranked the SAR in the second quintile in the "regulatory framework" and "public services" categories. Speaking in a statement, a government spokesperson pointed out that Hong Kong was given different rankings by many other global organisations in areas relating to "international trade", "financial services" and "dispute resolutions". In September, the Global Financial Centres Index report placed Hong Kong as the world's third-ranked financial hub, after leading cities New York and London. The city was also ranked fourth in the World Talent Ranking 2025, by reports from The International Institute for Management Development in September. The government statement said: "Taking the pillar of 'Operational Efficiency' as an example, some of the data used to assess Hong Kong were collected shortly after the pandemic in 2023, while some of the data used for other economies' assessment were collected in 2024." The spokesperson also noted that as the report is still under the pilot phase, and might have room for improvement over its assessment methods, the SAR government would maintain communication with the group to "fully explain Hong Kong's business environment and relevant policy measures". The government would also offer feedback and strive to optimise the compilation of the report, the spokesperson added.