Remarks by SFST on financial development
Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (August 30):
Reporter: On the programme, you mentioned that Hong Kong's achievements are not magic, but the result of careful assessment of local, national, and global developments. Could you share a specific example where you had to adjust your original policy plan because the global market shifted faster than expected, and how did you pivot from that? Also, there was talk about family offices, and the eight measures introduced at a time when global positioning was unclear. Looking ahead, how do you plan to differentiate Hong Kong from other regional competitors, especially in attracting high-net-worth families and digital asset innovators?
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, Photo source: reference image
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury: As I mentioned on the programme, I think there are two key trends affecting everybody, economies and individuals together, globally and regionally. One is about geopolitics, a time when there is the increasing need for corporates, individuals, or even family offices to diversify their investments. The other key trend you highlighted is the trend of emerging technologies, AI and others. On these two, I would say what we have done so far is to ensure Hong Kong can leverage our advantages under "one country, two systems", and to ensure that we continue to be a relevant, trusted, stable and safe investment hub for all these capital that are willing and ready to put into Hong Kong.
At the same time, apart from the original business that we have in terms of equity and bonds, what we should do is to diversify our portfolio in terms of service offering. That's why this government has been embarking on an initiative to develop Hong Kong as an international gold trading centre, with the clearing system now in pilot operation. And apart from equities, we are also pursuing developments on the bond side, including the setup of a bond trading platform (the electronic fixed income and currency trading platform between the China Foreign Exchange Trade System and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited). So all these are part and parcel of our overall strategy to continue enhancing our role as an international financial centre and to make Hong Kong continuously relevant in this changing era.
Hong Kong, Photo source: reference image
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
