Speech by CE at Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit (with photo/video)
Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit today (November 3):
Deputy Governor Zou Lan (Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China), Vice Minister Xiao Yuanqi (Vice Minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration), Vice Chairman Li Chao (Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission), Deputy Director Zhang Yong (Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Commissioner Cui Jianchun (Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Deputy Administrator Li Hongyan (Deputy Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange), Mr Eddie Yue (Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. I'm delighted to welcome you to Hong Kong and the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, the fifth edition.
Gathered here, in Hong Kong, for this year's Summit are some 280 global financial leaders, including about 120 group chairpersons and CEOs. Your presence sends a clear and compelling message: that even amid profound global shifts, Hong Kong remains the nexus for the world's financial leadership.
Our theme this year, "Rethinking the Playbook", captures a reality we all know and feel. Long-held market assumptions are being tested. Strategies that once delivered results no longer guarantee success today.
Yes, powerful structural forces are rewriting the rules of global finance. Geopolitical crosscurrents present fresh complexities. Blockchain and tokenisation are rebuilding the core infrastructure of finance, while AI is reshaping productivity, labour markets and competition across every sector. Every economy.
The question is not whether we rethink the playbook but rather how, and where, we build a new one. Hong Kong, I'm here to tell you, is re-writing that playbook together with global investors. With all of you.
In September, we launched Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan - our first strategic blueprint for the medium to long term.
It sets out clear, actionable directions to strengthen Hong Kong's status as an international financial hub, a global offshore Renminbi business hub, an international asset and wealth management centre and also an international risk management centre.
The Plan delivers what markets value most: certainty. In an era of ever-shifting terrain, it lays out a transparent roadmap, showing where Hong Kong is heading, and how we intend to get there. I invite you to consider that roadmap yours as well.
And to be clear, as we rethink the playbook, as we create strategic blueprints for Hong Kong's development, we ensure the value proposition of our city remains intact - that is our competitive edge under the "one country, two systems" principle.
The vitality of our common law system. The free and unfettered flow of people, goods, capital and ideas. A free market with no tariffs. A simple and low tax regime. World-class professional services. All coupled with an unparalleled connectivity to the vast Chinese Mainland market and the world. These are, and will always be, in the opening chapter of Hong Kong's playbook.
For the next few minutes, allow me to offer my thoughts on how Hong Kong can create tangible opportunities for you, your businesses and your investment decisions.
Under our Five-Year Plan, finance remains Hong Kong's surpassing strength. We are firmly guided by the principle of growth through stability, while reinforcing stability through growth.
This approach delivers results. Last year, Hong Kong topped the global IPO league table. And in the first nine months of this year - in a far more competitive global field - we have raised some 50 billion US dollars in IPOs. That puts us second, globally.
Hong Kong remains the world's leading offshore Renminbi business hub, processing about 75 per cent of global offshore Renminbi payments. At the end of July, our Renminbi deposits stood at about 1.3 trillion Renminbi. That provides a deep liquidity pool to support offshore Renminbi trading and financial activities worldwide.
Hong Kong is also the world's largest cross-boundary wealth management centre - for the first time - according to the Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth Report. The Report, published in May, cited capital inflows from the Mainland, as well as a fundraising boom in the city, for Hong Kong's world-beating performance.
Some of you may recall that, in my speech to you here last year, I said Hong Kong was poised to become the world's largest wealth management centre "in the next few years". Well, all I can say is that, when it comes to finance, Hong Kong is in a time zone all its own. At a Hong Kong speed unique to this city.
Last year, assets under management surged 20 per cent, year-on-year, to a record-breaking 5.4 trillion US dollars, while net fund inflows nearly tripled, to 270 billion US dollars.
In June, we introduced legislation to enhance preferential tax arrangements for funds, single family offices and carried interest. I invite more fund managers and family offices to set up here and deploy global capital through Hong Kong.
We are also pursuing new high-growth frontiers.
That includes commodity trading, starting with gold. We're building a gold trading ecosystem that connects with global markets and offers price discovery, clearing and physical delivery.
Our Gold Central Clearing and Settlement System, which entered trial operation in July to strong market feedback, is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of next year. With Delivery Connect linking to the Shanghai Gold Exchange, and alignment with the London Bullion Market Association standards underway, Hong Kong is emerging as a trusted hub - where Asia's gold flow meets global standards.
Turning to fintech, Hong Kong continues to rank first, globally, for fintech offerings in the Global Financial Centres Index.
We are home to more than 1 400 fintech companies, including eight digital banks, four virtual insurers and 12 licensed, virtual-asset trading platforms. They create a vibrant ecosystem rooted in innovation.
Sustainable finance is another core strength. Last year, green and sustainable debt issued in Hong Kong exceeded 76 billion US dollars. And green and sustainable bonds arranged here amounted to about 38 billion US dollars, ranking first in Asia for the eighth consecutive year. In September, we issued close to 2.6 billion US dollars equivalent in digital green bonds. That, I'm pleased to say, is the world's largest digital bond issuance.
Then there's the Northern Metropolis. It takes up one-third of Hong Kong's land area and is located right next to the enterprising Mainland city of Shenzhen.
The Northern Metropolis will rise as a strategic hub integrating education, technology, industry, talent and a quality living environment. It will be home to three university towns, as well as dedicated land for I&T development. I invite you to partner with Hong Kong in developing the Northern Metropolis into an innovation, technology and talent hub.
Ladies and gentlemen, while the global financial playbook is being rewritten, one timeless investor imperative endures: the search for certainty, clarity and confidence. Hong Kong delivers on all three.
That confidence is reflected in our international engagement. Just two weeks ago, the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting was held in Hong Kong for the first time, as part of APEC China 2026, underlining our "super connector" status.
Later this month, I will attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen, representing Hong Kong, China. I'll be working with economies representing some three billion people and more than 60 per cent of global GDP. Our goal is clear: to advance open trade, investment and regional economic co-operation.
Co-operation creates collaboration and the rewards of mutual opportunities. I invite you to rethink the playbook with us. Leverage our world-beating fintech offerings to trial next-generation financial products. Take advantage of our gold and commodity infrastructure. Join our growing green finance marketplace. Launch new financing products for the innovative creations in the Northern Metropolis.
And do it all in the stability and certainty of Hong Kong, where East meets West, where global finance thrives in dynamism and security.
Ladies and gentlemen, at the inaugural edition of this summit in 2022, we were reopening Hong Kong's doors after the pandemic, putting Hong Kong back on the global stage again. In 2026, at this fifth summit, Hong Kong is resplendent on stage with renewed ambitions. We will rethink, and rewrite, the playbook with all of you. We will show the world how we could pair market agility with governmental foresight.
On that note, I wish you all a productive summit and time, too, to enjoy the many pleasures of Hong Kong, Asia's world city. Thank you.
Speech by CE at Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
