FS sells Hong Kong as the global wealth management hub

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is currently flying the Hong Kong flag through Europe selling the city as the super-connector between China and the rest of the world, as well as it being the global wealth management hub.

Backing up Chan’s claims is the assessment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that Hong Kong has reinforced its position as a global financial center and super-connector between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the word. The city’s economy continues to recover from the COVID pandemic stronger than expected, supported by robust technology-related exports, improved private demand and a rebound in financial market activity.

It is the super-connector role that is central to sustaining Hong Kong’s position as a leading offshore renminbi (RMB) hub, as well as its involvement in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay area and, of course, the Northern Metropolis development. Hong Kong is the primary gateway linking China with the rest of the world, a position reinforced by its status as an international financial center and its unique "one country, two systems" framework. Hong Kong also acts as a "super value-adder" by providing high-level professional services, legal expertise, and supply chain management that help mainland enterprises expand overseas, and global companies access the Chinese market.

Equity fundraising and asset management activity, key elements in Chan’s European mission, have picked up since the pandemic alongside improved market sentiment, reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as a global financial center and super-connector between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world, particularly in its role as a leading fundraising hub and premier offshore renminbi center.

Hong Kong, with its common law legal system and headquarters for the International Arbitration Center, is a catalyst for China’s economy accounting for about two thirds of China’s inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and outward direct investments passing through the city. So, it not only provides a channel for goods and services to go global but also catalyses the international usage of renminbi (RMB) along the process. Since the launch of the pilot scheme for cross-border trade settlement in renminbi in 2009, RMB trade settlement handled by banks in Hong Kong sees exponential growth, recording RMB 64 trillion (HK$73.6 trillion) in 2024 (the latest available figure) or a quarter of China’s cross border trade in goods.

However, it still has a bit more to go to be a dominant settlement currency. In December 2024 the RMB was the fourth most active currency after the US, EUR and GBP, overtaking the Japanese Yen for the position. Using RMB for settlement allows companies to avoid the two to three per cent higher administrative costs associated with USD transactions, eliminates the need for currency hedging against RMB volatility, and provides access to Chinese trade finance products.

The IMF report goes on with a bullish Hong Kong line, citing the Middle East crisis, which Hong Kong could rapidly “transmit” given the city’s “high degree of openness and financial interconnectedness.” It predicts that over the medium term, growth is projected to normalize to around 2.25 per cent.

“The Hong Kong economy expanded robustly in the first quarter of 2026. Looking ahead, Hong Kong's economic growth outlook is positive, underpinned by strong global demand for AI-related electronics, sustained growth in visitor arrivals and robust cross-boundary financial activities,” the IMF concluded.

Chan’s European mission kicked off in Paris where he attended a meeting of the Association Francaise de la Gestion Financiere (AFG), the French asset management association which has shown a keen interest in expanding its presence in Hong Kong amid market diversification and significant growth potential in the Greater Bay Area asset management market. It also offers a pool of potential investors in the Northern Metropolis project.

The AFG is a must target for Hong Kong seeking to boost it FDIs. Some 330 member firms account for 90 per cent of the US$5.8 trillion (HK$45.4 trillion) in assets under management in France, while assets under management in Hong Kong jumped to HK$35.14 trillion (US$4.48 trillion) in 2024, just $41 million (US$5.2 million) short of the 2021 record.

While the Financial Secretary makes progress in Europe, the upcoming visit by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in early June indicates a strategic shift eastward in these efforts. Together, their activities create a strong two-pronged effect: Chan attracts Western capital seeking access to China’s mainland market, while Lee opens new growth pathways along the Belt and Road, channeling Central Asian investment into Hong Kong and beyond. This joint effort directly supports Hong Kong’s role in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), which highlights high-quality development, enhanced regional connectivity, and a “dual circulation” economic strategy. By positioning Hong Kong as a “hub-to-hub” bridge between Central Asia and East Asia and reaffirming its status as a global wealth management centre, the two officials are aiding the city in fulfilling its role as a premier offshore RMB centre, a super-connector, and a catalyst for cross-border trade and investment in line with the national blueprint.

The official visits overseas by Chan carries a simple message, Hong Kong is open for business. His purpose, as with other visits by government officials, is to counter, in part, all the negative publicity generated by the Jimmy Lai trial which suggests there are flaws in Hong Kong’s legal system, the backbone to the city’s successes.

Mark Pinkstone

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

It is said that sport promotes a healthy body, a healthy mind…and a healthy economy. In Hong Kong’s case that is worth about HK$51 billion (US$6.5 billion), or 1.5 per cent of our $3.4 trillion (US$ 434.2 billion) gross domestic product.

On top of that, it provides for about 84,000 jobs, according to figures released by the Census and Statistics Department.

Already Hong Kong draws on a fine reputation for hosting international sporting events, such as the Rugby Sevens, ATP and WTA tennis championships, the LIV golf tournament, equestrian events, snooker championships to name just a few. Every month The Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s calendar is filled with sporting events, both local and international, to keep sporting facilities fully booked.

Due to its high class sports facilities, low tax regime, location as the center of Asia and lifestyle appeal, Hong Kong has attracted super stars like snooker champions Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump and Jimmy White to take up residence here under the government’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS). The Scheme is designed to attract highly skilled or talented persons to settle in Hong Kong to enhance the city's economic competitiveness. Applicants are not required to have secured an offer of local employment before applying for entry or being admitted to Hong Kong for settlement under the Scheme. Accordingly, the trend is continuing as high-profile figures continue to join the city's registry. More than 100 active and retired international athletes have relocated to Hong Kong under these programs in recent years, and officials continue to process applications from prominent global sports icons.

A number of sports events in Hong Kong have been given an “M” (for Mega) ranking by the Major Sports Events Committee for their ability to draw in large international followers, thus adding to the city’s tourism coffers. The ranking is for world-level events and goes with dollar-for-dollar matching grants from the government with funding based entirely on the event’s quality, media coverage and economic tourism potential.

Events which have received the “M” rating, and thus government financial support, includes the ATP and WTA tennis tournaments, rapid and blitz chess championships, international dragon boat races, volleyball nations league, the international invitation horse racing event, fencing world championships and, of course, the famed Rugby Sevens, Rugby Sevens which last year generated some HK$780 million (US $100 million) to the city’s economy.

All “M” events are a magnet for drawing foreign visitors to Hong Kong. For example, the Rugby Sevens earlier this year drew in about 150,000 foreign visitors and rising Filipina tennis star Alex Eala, who has taken the US open by storm, filled the 15,000 seat Wimbledon Centre Court with her fans, many of whom are expected to follow her to Hong Kong for the Prudential WTA Open in November.

Hong Kong’s HK$30 billion Kai Tak Sports Park with its 50,000-seat stadium drew 2.4 million spectators in its first year of operation. The main stadium is built to serve as a multi-purpose mega-venue. Overcoming Hong Kong's unpredictable summer weather it is equipped with a retractable roof and advanced climate control, to host premier sports tournaments alongside massive pop concerts.

Hong Kong’s role in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) provides an ideal opportunity for greater interplay between the nine cities in Guangdong and the Special Economic Zones of Hong Kong and Macao. Prime examples would be the 15th National Games and historic cross-border marathons and cycling races, where athletes seamlessly travel across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. The lead for cross-border sport is being taken by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which has made major proposals in our first Five Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, by transforming the GBA into an international equestrian and equine sports hub.

The club envisions a seamless multi-destination racing tourism circuit that links its world-class facilities in Sha Tin and Happy Valley with the Conghua Racecourse in Guangzhou. To further solidify this ecosystem, the proposals suggest expanding Hong Kong's successful disease-free zone management and biosecurity protocols to other regions in the mainland, such as Xinjiang.

Under this equine hub framework, the club also advocates establishing a World Organization for Animal Health collaboration center in Hong Kong and advancing institutional connectivity by expanding the mutual recognition of veterinary qualifications across the border.

Both the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Culture and Tourism Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area gives a fresh impetus to the development of the tourism industry within the GBA. With the platform of the Tourism Federation of Cities in the GBA, the Tourism Commission has been actively fostering co-operation with the tourism authorities of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the nine Chinese Mainland cities in the GBA in developing more “multi-destination” tourism products.

As the consultation scope of the Five-Year Plan has been wide to incorporate most of Hong Kong’s society, tourism leaders including event organizers, travel agents, hotels and airlines have been promoting an integrated culture-sports-tourism synergy as a total package in fostering tourism to Hong Kong.

By working together as an industry and with our neighbors, Hong Kong becomes an even more attractive sports destination offering packages for foreign visitors to stay longer in this Pearl of the Orient.