High-level banking summit shows Hong Kong has returned to normality, finance chief Paul Chan says
- Financial secretary says attendees have shared that their experience in city is ‘different from what they have seen in foreign media outlets’
- City needs to strengthen investment by wooing firms and talent amid pessimistic economic outlook, he adds
A high-level banking summit held last week has shown to the world that Hong Kong has returned to normality, the city’s finance chief has said, as overseas attendees added that their experiences during the trip differed from foreign media reports.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday also said in his weekly blog that the city needed to strengthen investment by wooing firms and talent amid a pessimistic economic outlook this year, with the latest gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter shrinking by 4.5 per cent compared with the same period during the previous year.
Chan said some participants had revealed they had learned more about the latest developments in the global markets and the city’s unique advantages during their trip.
“Some of them have visited Hong Kong several times in recent years, while quite a lot of them have returned for the first time after several years,” he said. “They say their first-hand experiences in Hong Kong were different from what they have seen in foreign media outlets.”
“The summit has also achieved another goal – to show the world Hong Kong’s openness and its return to normality. We will hold the investment summit next year as well.”
The gathering of the world’s top financiers, organised by the Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, was part of a series of high-profile international events hosted last week to announce Hong Kong’s comeback after nearly three years of Covid-19 pandemic curbs, following anti-government protests in 2019.
