Paul Chan Begins Bangkok Visit for IMF and World Bank Meetings, Focusing on Hong Kong's Investment Opportunities.

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video)

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, today (October 15) to begin his visit, attending the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group and related events as a member of the Chinese delegation.

Mr Chan attended a high-level roundtable co-organised by the IMF and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to explore how economies in the Middle East and Central Asia can better benefit from the vast opportunities offered by Hong Kong's investment and financing markets. Heads of finance ministries and central banks from a number of countries in these regions took part. In his keynote speech, Mr Chan said that the increasingly close financial ties between Hong Kong and the Middle East and Central Asia help investors diversify their investments and enable enterprises to better raise capital for business development and manage risks. As these economies continue to develop and diversify, Hong Kong can support their growth in three areas: mobilising long-term capital, broadening currency options, and managing and sharing risks.

On mobilising long-term capital, Mr Chan pointed out that Hong Kong's common law system under "one country, two systems", free flow of capital, Linked Exchange Rate System, diverse investor base, and connectivity with both Mainland and international capital markets provide a solid foundation for investment. Hong Kong ranked first globally in funds raised through initial public offerings last year. In the first nine months of this year, funds raised reached nearly US$50 billion, more than double the amount in the same period last year and already exceeding last year's full-year total. Hong Kong also supports industries in reducing emissions and transitioning to greener operations through green and sustainable finance. Infrastructure asset securitisation helps broaden the investor base and enables lenders to recycle capital into new projects.

On broadening currency options, Mr Chan said that Hong Kong is continuing to enhance its offshore Renminbi (RMB) ecosystem to facilitate financing, settlement and investment by enterprises and investors. This helps enterprises with close business ties with the Mainland reduce currency conversion risks and better align the currencies of their receipts, payments and borrowings. Hong Kong has the world's largest offshore RMB liquidity pool, with deposits of around RMB1.3 trillion. With the support of the People's Bank of China, the HKMA expanded the funding arrangements supporting RMB trade business to RMB500 billion in July, further meeting enterprises' financing needs.

On managing and sharing risks, Mr Chan noted that Hong Kong has facilitated seven issuances of catastrophe bonds totalling around US$800 million since 2021. These bonds bring in capital market investors to share catastrophe risks, providing additional protection against major disasters and strengthening the resilience of businesses and communities.

Mr Chan invited international multilateral organisations, financial institutions and insurers to work together in innovative ways to promote more efficient capital mobilisation and risk management, enabling all parties to share in the benefits of economic development. He said that Hong Kong's concentration of relevant professional expertise, abundant capital and extensive experience can help structure projects to make them bankable, fostering a virtuous cycle in which investment drives growth and growth creates investment opportunities.

The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, and senior management members of three major banks in Hong Kong also attended the roundtable.

Mr Chan also called on the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Zhang Jianwei, today to exchange views on Thailand's economy, China-Thailand relations and the international landscape. Mr Chan gave an update on Hong Kong's economy and an overview of the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030). The two sides also had in-depth exchanges on further strengthening economic and trade co-operation and people-to-people exchanges between Hong Kong and Thailand.

He also met with the Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific of the International Finance Corporation, Mr Sarvesh Suri, for in-depth exchanges on strengthening co-operation in a number of areas. These included more effectively mobilising private capital to support sustainable development in infrastructure, education, healthcare and the digital economy in the region, and participating in the formulation of relevant international standards; strengthening financing support for trade, supply chains and small and medium-sized enterprises; using financial instruments such as catastrophe bonds to manage and share climate risks; and enhancing co-operation in talent training.

Mr Chan will continue his visit to Bangkok tomorrow (October 16), including attending the plenary session of the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group.

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

FS begins visit to Bangkok, Thailand (with photos/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Government announces quarterly land sale programme for October to December 2026

The Government announced today (October 15) the quarterly land sale programme for the third quarter of 2026-27, i.e. October to December 2026.

The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said the Government will put up for tender a site at the Junction of Tai Chung Kiu Road and On Sum Street, Shek Mun, Shatin, for private residential development in the third quarter of the 2026-27 financial year. The site has a floor space of around 48 090 square metres and can provide around 960 flats. The site is situated in a mature residential neighbourhood and in close proximity to Shek Mun MTR Station, with comprehensive surrounding infrastructure and traffic network. Originally zoned for commercial use, the site is selected from the Annual Land Sale List announced in February this year and has obtained planning approval from the Town Planning Board for private residential development. The prospective developer shall set aside some floor space for the provision of a public vehicle park on site which can be exempted from gross floor area calculations according to the policy announced last year.

Apart from government land sale, other sources of private housing supply in this quarter include the Urban Renewal Authority's To Kwa Wan Road project, which is estimated to provide around 1 050 flats. As for private development and redevelopment projects, seven projects are expected to complete the lease modification or land exchange procedures in the third quarter, providing a total supply of around 1 835 flats, demonstrating developers' optimistic attitude towards market prospects.

In addition, the Development Bureau had invited the market to submit expressions of interest for student hostel development at three commercial sites in Kai Tak, Siu Lek Yuen (Shatin) and Tung Chung East in January 2026, and received a positive response. The Development Bureau plans to put up for tender the Siu Lek Yuen (Shatin) site in this quarter, which is estimated to provide around 600 beds. The site is situated in close proximity to City One MTR Station and Shek Mun MTR Station, as well as nearby post-secondary institutions. Having regard to the tender result of the Siu Lek Yuen (Shatin) site, the Government will consider the way forward on the other two sites.

"Taking all of the above sources of land supply into account, the total private housing land supply in the third quarter of this financial year would support the development of around 3 845 units. Together with the supply from the first two quarters of this financial year, the total private housing land supply in the first three quarters of this financial year is expected to support some 15680 units, which has already exceeded our annual target of private housing supply, i.e. 12600 units," Ms Linn said.

Ms Linn continued, "Although the target has already been met, we will continue to roll out land to the market in the third quarter based on three considerations: (1) the annual supply target is not a rigid indicator, the Government has all along evaluated the pace and trend of market supply in its totality from a macro perspective; (2) some development projects co-ordinated by the Government (e.g. the Northern Metropolis, railway property development and urban renewal projects) have their own specific timeframes in meeting the Government's policy needs and the holistic development of their respective areas; and (3) with the generally positive market sentiment, there is sufficient demand and capacity for developers to take on mature urban land. The Government will continue to assess the circumstances and roll out land flexibly according to policy needs and market conditions."

The site to be tendered from October to December 2026 is in the Annex. The actual tender timetable will be drawn up taking into account the progress of necessary preparatory work. The Lands Department will announce the detailed land sale arrangements before individual sites are put up for tender.

Source: AI-found images