18th March 2023 – (Beijing) Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, spoke at the Asia Pacific Financial Forum 2023 on March 18th, delivering a video speech to over 500 attendees in Beijing, along with more than 200 participants who joined online from around the world. Mr Chan highlighted the importance of collaboration and cooperation between countries and economies in these challenging times, and Hong Kong’s unique position as an international financial centre under “one country, two systems”.
Mr Chan explained that Hong Kong’s professional services are strong and competitive, and the city’s stock market has deep liquidity, with capitalisation reaching US$4.6 trillion at the end of December 2022, 13 times Hong Kong’s GDP. He also spoke about the success of the Connect schemes, which have enabled the Mainland and Hong Kong’s capital markets and investors to come together, creating more investment options and risk-management tools for investors.
Mr Chan also highlighted the role Hong Kong could play in assisting the internationalisation of the Renminbi, and the city’s potential to develop into a world leader in green technology and green finance. Hong Kong is Asia’s first in green financing, and in 2021, green and sustainable debts issued or arranged in Hong Kong reached around US$57 billion, topping Asia. The city’s government recently issued a tokenised green bond, the first of its kind released anywhere in the world by a government.
Mr Chan concluded his speech by stating that Hong Kong is determined and well positioned to tap the opportunities presented by changes in the international environment and to contribute to the world’s high-quality development.