HK Expelled From Economic Freedom Ranking

Hong Kong has disappeared from an annual ranking of the world's freest economies that it traditionally dominated, with the publisher of the report, the Heritage Foundation, saying the city no longer has autonomy over its economic policies.

For more than two decades, Hong Kong occupied the top position in the Index of Economic Freedom, until Singapore knocked the SAR down to second place last year.

The Washington-based foundation had cited the social unrest and the city's exposure to the mainland for the drop.

The SAR government – which liked to boast about the city's stellar performance in the rankings – said at the time that it was "naturally disappointed" for the slip, pinning the blame on anti-government protesters.

But now Hong Kong is included in China's ranking, way down the league table in 107th place.

Macau is also now included with the rest of China.

"No doubt both Hong Kong and Macau, as special administrative regions, enjoy economic policies that in many respects offer their citizens more economic freedom than is available to the average citizen of China," the foundation said.

"But developments in recent years have demonstrated unambiguously that those policies are ultimately controlled from Beijing."

"China remains a mostly unfree economy," said the foundation in its report.

"Overall, the economic freedom that does exist in China continues to lack depth and breadth, and the government needs to ensure that business-friendly policy changes are understood and implemented nationwide, not just in Beijing or the major commercial centers."

Singapore retains the top spot in the rankings this year.

Taiwan's economy is ranked the 6th freest in the world, with its score improving "primarily because of an improvement in government integrity".