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China Conference: Southeast Asia
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Hong Kong must ‘embrace and facilitate’ movement of global firms to city, says finance chief Paul Chan

  • Financial secretary says ‘favourable’ regulatory moves have allowed Hong Kong to do more to attract overseas companies
  • Hong Kong is also aiming to become a regional hub for green technology and finance, push forward development of fintech and Web3, Chan adds

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Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po speaks at the SCMP’s China Conference: Southeast Asia on Wednesday in Singapore. Photo: Handout
Dewey Simin Singapore
Hong Kong’s place as one of the world’s top financial hubs is based not only on its ready access to mainland capital and as the home ground for many Chinese firms, but also due its attractiveness for international firms and new economy businesses. This was a key message from Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po during a keynote address in a Post-organised forum in Singapore on Wednesday.
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While it was important for Hong Kong to continue to serve as the mainland’s international financial centre, it needed to “embrace and facilitate” the movement of global firms to the city too, he said at the China Conference: Southeast Asia 2023.

Mainland firms currently make up about 75 per cent of Hong Kong’s market capitalisation and contribute nearly 80 per cent of the daily turnover.

The “favourable” move by the China Securities Regulatory Commission to allow international firms to be eligible for the Southbound Bond Connect – a mutual market access scheme that lets mainland institutional investors invest in Hong Kong – made the city more attractive to overseas firms, Chan said.

“With this policy, we are in the best position to do more to enable these companies to come,” he said, adding that the city could also improve itself in embracing new economy firms.

The city’s financial tsar also referenced the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s announcement last week to allow eligible specialist technology companies to apply to list at the pre-commercial or early commercial stage starting from March 31.

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