HKT — Hong Kong Standard Time
HKT is Hong Kong Standard Time, 8 hours ahead of UTC. It is a fixed offset: unlike a time zone, it does not change with the season — the zones that use it switch to a different abbreviation instead.
Current time in HKT
15:46
Sunday, 2 August 2026
HKT = UTC+8 · 8 hours ahead of UTC
Shown for 2 Aug 2026 07:46 UTC. The clock goes live as soon as scripts load.
UTC offset
UTC+8
Type
Standard time
Seasonal counterpart
None
The zones using it do not change their clocks
Meanings
1
Unambiguous
Is HKT in force right now?
A zone only carries this abbreviation for part of the year. This is which of them were on it at 2 Aug 2026 07:46 UTC; the list is re-derived against your own clock when scripts load.
On HKT now
- Asia/Hong_Kong — Hong Kong
Using a different abbreviation
- Every zone listed here was on HKT.
Convert HKT to other time zones
City clocks reflect whatever their zone is doing; where a city observes daylight saving time, its difference from HKT changes twice a year. Use the time zone converter for a specific date.
Time zones and cities that use HKT
Hong Kong Standard Time · UTC+8
Why HKT is not an identifier
HKT is shorthand, not a standard. There is no registry of time zone abbreviations, no authority that assigns them, and nothing preventing two regions from adopting the same three letters — which is what makes codes like IST and CST unusable without context.
For anything a machine will read — a calendar invitation, a database column, an API response — use the IANA identifier of the zone (Asia/Hong_Kong, for example) or an explicit UTC offset alongside the date. The identifier survives a change in the law; HKT and its 8 hours offset do not.
Abbreviations on the same clock
Frequently asked questions
What does HKT stand for?
HKT stands for Hong Kong Standard Time. It is 8 hours ahead of UTC, written UTC+8.
What is HKT in UTC?
HKT is UTC+8. To convert an HKT time to UTC, subtract 8 hours.
Which time zone should I use instead of HKT?
Use an IANA identifier — Asia/Hong_Kong for Hong Kong Standard Time — or state the UTC offset with the date. Abbreviations are not identifiers: they are not unique, they are not registered anywhere, and half of them change with the season. Calendar software resolves this automatically when you pick a city rather than typing letters.