Paul Chan vows to champion Hong Kong market, diversify funding sources after US rate cut
Financial secretary also says extent of Hong Kong’s alignment with US rate cut will depend on ‘local capital flows and market conditions’
The city’s largest commercial banks decreased their prime lending rates for the first time in nearly five years, a move in lockstep with the half-percentage point cut by the US Federal Reserve last week.
Chan said the rate reduction and response by major banks would create a “loose financial environment”, benefiting asset market sentiment and the business climate in the industrial and commercial sectors.
“As the macro outlook gradually becomes relatively favourable, we need to further intensify our efforts to promote the Hong Kong market,” he wrote in his weekly blog.
“We should diversify the sources of funding at a time when investment risk appetite is recovering and investors are seeking higher returns.”
He said authorities would promote cooperation in both traditional and emerging markets, in a bid to “better leverage funds from different markets” and inject new impetus into the capital market as the city’s interest rates declined.
