Shanghainese people in Hong Kong have played an important role in the region, despite being a relatively small portion of the Han Chinese population.

While a relatively small portion of the population compared to the Cantonese majority, Shanghainese people and their descendants have had a tremendous influence on the economy of Hong Kong helping transform the colony from a trading outpost into a global manufacturing and shipping hub.

Shanghainese émigrés also had a major contribution to the cinema of Hong Kong, beginning with an exodus of filmmakers and actors fleeing the violence of the Second Sino-Japanese War and continuing after the Communist takeover of the mainland.

[12] According to 2011 census data, the area with the highest concentration of Shanghainese speakers in Hong Kong is Fuk Loi constituency of Tsuen Wan.

A notable exception was the Ningbo native and shipping magnate Yue-Kong Pao, who managed to remit much of his family's wealth to Hong Kong before this became impossible after the communist takeover of Shanghai.

[20] The Hong Kong authorities created favorable conditions for Shanghai business, which attracted textile, shipping and film moguls to the colony.

[21] While these cotton mill owners tended to promote among relatives and kinsmen, much to the dismay of their Cantonese laborers, many Shanghainese dismissed the idea that there was nepotism at play.

[22] Goodstat writes that although Shanghainese did have a significant impact on the economy of Hong Kong, their economic influence would be greatly exaggerated to "legendary" proportions, as this was a myth propagated by the British in later years.

The major mainland Chinese commercial presence in Hong Kong up to the 1980s comprised the state-owned banks; a high proportion of their upper management were of Shanghai origin.

The Sino-Japanese war and subsequent Battle of Shanghai brought and exodus of filmmakers to Hong Kong,[25] as did the other wave with the communist takeover of the mainland.

Cooperative Strategies - Asian Pacific Perspectives (1997) by Beamish and Killing use it as a case study for illustrating the important of guanxi, specifically personal friendships and regional ancestral network relationships in Chinese business culture.

The pedicures are thought to have first appeared in Hong Kong in the late 1940s with the opening of Shanghai Tong Hing Yuk Tak Bathhouse (closed in 2006).

[31] Maggie Cheung, born in Hong Kong to parents who came from Shanghai, has frequently portrayed Shanghainese characters on screen, particularly in collaboration with director Wong Kar-wai.