The successful conclusion of the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers' Meeting (FMM) hosted in Hong Kong last week has provided significant strategic, financial, and reputational benefits to the city, proving it has more to offer than being a mere event economy.
By organizing the 2026 APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting (FMM) for the first time, Hong Kong has successfully reinforced its position as a premier global hub and a critical bridge between mainland China and the international market. It is the world’s freest economy according to the Fraser Institute and third, by one point after London, as the global financial centre and lead in the Asia-Pacific region by the Global Financial Centres Index.
At the opening ceremony, China’s Minister of Finance, Lan Fo'an noted that all economies should seize the opportunities of digital and green transformation, promote innovative cooperation such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green and low-carbon development, and cultivate new growth drivers. All economies, he said, should deepen practical co-operation in fiscal and financial fields, foster an open regional economic environment, maintain the stability and smooth flow of industrial and supply chains, and advance regional economic integration.
More than 500 delegates from all 21 APEC member economies converged on the city immediately after the Chung Yeung festival to discuss economic problems that have plagued the region as well as paving the way forward for closer cooperation. All finance members were present except for the US where Treasury Undersecretary Erin Browne deputised for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is preparing for President Donald Trump’s forthcoming APEC CEO Summit in Shenzhen next month.
The CEO Summit in Futian, eastern Shenzhen next month will be attended by world leaders including Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin. These important APEC meetings being held in southern China demonstrates the Greater Bay Area’s global synergy.
China is the host of APEC 2026. The FMM, being hosted by the Ministry of Finance and held in Hong Kong under the arrangements and organisation of the HKSAR Government, is a key component among a series of APEC meetings this year. Through the FMM, Hong Kong has demonstrated to participating economies and the international community its comprehensive development across economic, financial, and social sectors, leveraging its distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the mainland and being closely connected to the world. The FMM has also deepened cooperation with other APEC members, fully showcasing Hong Kong's role as a "super connector". The APEC members are Hong Kong’s “circle of friends” with which it already close trade relations.
Under its unique "one country, two systems" principle of governance, Hong Kong enjoys both the China advantage and the global advantage. Hong Kong is the only common law jurisdiction in China to have a legal and regulatory regime similar to most of the world's top financial hubs. It is the super connector and super value adder linking China with the rest of the world.
As a founding member of the World Trade Organization, Hong Kong champions free trade and maintains a zero-tariff policy, a simple and low tax regime, and a stable, secure, fair and predictable business environment for a world of investors and professionals.
For Hong Kong, the FMM significantly improved foreign business and political leaders' attitudes toward the city. Delegates left with a positive outlook on the city’s economic direction and ongoing development. The meeting allowed Hong Kong to showcase its thriving investor ecosystem, where roughly 35 per cent of capital flows originate from the US, Europe, and the Middle East, and another 25 per cent from the mainland.
Amid rising global interest rates, the forum gave Hong Kong a prime opportunity to promote its competitive “dim sum” bond market, which refers to the Renminbi (RMB)-dominated bonds issued in Hong Kong. Analysts noted that with lower yields on offshore yuan bonds compared to standard US Treasuries, the city leveraged the FMM to attract more Asia-Pacific sovereign debt issuers.
In the words of Chief Executive John Lee at the APEC welcome dinner: “We are committed to strengthening Hong Kong's role as a global offshore RMB business hub, an international asset and wealth management centre, and an international risk management centre.”
To allow delegates to further appreciate Hong Kong's cultural heritage and unique charm as an international metropolis, a diverse range of experiential and cultural activities and visits, incorporating elements of Chinese culture and Hong Kong's distinct character, were arranged for members of delegations.
By acting as the operational host for China's APEC 2025/2026 chair year, Hong Kong perfectly demonstrated its dual advantage: enjoying strong structural support from the mainland while remaining seamlessly connected to global systems. The event accelerated regional capital flow discussions and paved the way for the upcoming APEC Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen.
Mark Pinkstone
** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **
Hong Kong, the world’s freest economy, will be host to some 500 delegates attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers’ meeting (FMM) today (Tuesday).
It will be the forerunner to the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders’ meeting and the APEC CEO Summit, hosted by President Xi Jinping and attended by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Shenzhen in November.
And in between these meetings will be the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Bangkok at the end of the month. A very busy time for the world’s economic powers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet.
Yesterday, Chief Executive John Lee welcomed APEC delegate and President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Mrs Zou Jiayi to Hong Kong, noting that AIIB’s continued use of Hong Kong’s strengths as an international finance hub, and its mature and comprehensive bond market to connect with international investors.
The AIIB is expected to open an office in Hong Kong soon, serving both financing and operational functions. This will demonstrate Hong Kong’s role as a gateway connecting the country and the world.
Some 1,000 delegates at the Shenzhen meetings will see first hand how a sparsely populated farmland of five decades ago has been transformed into a thriving city of the future with a population of 18 million.
The series of meetings of the world’s leading economies highlight the 2026 APEC China Year, running under the overall theme "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together".
Finance chiefs and high-ranking senior officials include representatives from key observing bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, who will join representatives of all 21 APEC member economies in the high-level dialogues at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today and for the next two days. China’s finance ministry will chair the meeting in Hong Kong, while the city authorities handle the event’s logistics, such as arranging the venue, transport and accommodation.
Hong Kong has long been recognised as an events capital for hosting major international conferences, and has extensive experience in managing media affairs and promotional activities for such events.
There will also be special tours and cultural events for the visiting spouses. The city will leverage the FMM programme arrangements with incorporate elements of Chinese culture, as well as the unique characteristics of Hong Kong. This will include the venue set-up (including exhibition booths around the conference area) and the design of side events (including welcoming dinner, cultural performances, and site visits) to enable participants to experience and interact with these cultural elements first-hand, thereby effectively telling good stories of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong will surely take advantage of such a captive audience by demonstrating how it became the world’s freest economy announced recently by Canada’s Fraser Institute.
It will also be an opportunity to debunk false statements by some of the attending delegates that Hong Kong is dead. Instead, the delegates will see a vibrant city with a sound five-year plan to ensure continuity of its policies in the years to come.
These policies will include the massive Northern Metropolis project along the Shenzhen boundary. And when they cross the river to attend further APEC meetings they will marvel at the scale of high tech development driving China’s economy.
Artificial intelligence (AI), which is surely to be a key topic among APEC members in this highly charged environment, is key technology for enhancing industrial competitiveness and strengthening economic growth. Making effective use of AI as a valuable tool for innovation requires active coordination and adoption of both the public and private sectors. It is a subject discussed at previous APEC meetings, which found that to enable innovation and adoption, it is important to ensure that regulatory regimes are conducive to AI development and deployment.
Economies have been encouraged to ensure that such regimes are fit-for-purpose and safeguard consumer protection, which is safe, secure, reliable and accessible for all. The sustained development of the AI ecosystem requires the cultivation and strengthening of skilled AI talent.
In this context, the finance ministries can play an important role in supporting the AI ecosystem and creating the appropriate incentives for the market. This may include tax incentives, promoting AI-related industries, partnering with the private sector, or supporting investment in enabling infrastructure and AI talent development.
Hong Kong is known for its openness and minimum regulations for foreign businesses setting up shop here, attributes recorded in the 2026 Fraser Report. It is a role model for others to follow.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will skip the Hong Kong gathering to focus on the follow up APEC meetings in Shenzhen. Instead, Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Browne is to head the U.S. delegation. It is hoped that Browne (in Hong Kong), Bessent and Trump (in Shenzhen) will listen and not preach to their APEC colleagues. For a country, that is forty trillion US dollars in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, it is in no position to lecture anybody about how to run their economy.
