Hong Kong should seize role in clean-energy commodities, think tank says

Commodities market would ‘create a new growth point for Hong Kong’s economy’, report from Better Hong Kong Foundation says

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An aerial photo taken on September 2, 2024 shows the fourth phase of the Chinese-built Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 3:30pm, 15 Jan 2025Updated: 4:47pm, 15 Jan 2025

A Hong Kong commodities market focused on materials critical to clean energy and other emerging industries would elevate the city’s importance in global trade while providing a strategic alternative for economies and companies worldwide, according to a local private think tank.

Such a market would help commodities buyers avoid having all their eggs in one basket in Western markets, the Better Hong Kong Foundation said in a report on Wednesday.

“Developing the commodity market is an important measure to create a new growth point for Hong Kong’s economy,” added the report, which is based on nine months of research with commodity-market participants and the China Development Institute in Shenzhen.

The report came after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu called for Hong Kong to build an international gold and commodity trading ecosystem in last year’s policy address.

A commodities market would consolidate and enhance the city’s status as an international centre in three crucial areas of finance, shipping and trade, the report said. It would also promote the internationalisation of the yuan and support the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s initiative to link economies into a China-centred trading network.

The suggestions and strategies made in the report are based on industry needs, said the foundation, which was established in 1995 by influential Hong Kong business and community leaders.