Our Persistent Efforts to Cultivate Opportunities in the Middle East

Last year, the Chief Executive led a delegation to the Middle East for a goodwill visit to promote Hong Kong’s strengths and explore business opportunities.  Since then, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has been working tirelessly and relentlessly on deepening the financial co-operation between Hong Kong and the Middle East.

 
At the Belt and Road (B&R) Summit organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government last September to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the B&R Initiative, I chaired a policy dialogue session titled “Tapping into the Potential of the Middle East”, during which I discussed with the ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt the respective roles that Hong Kong and the Middle East can play as regional hubs in jointly promoting the sustainable development of the B&R Initiative and the opportunities thus created.  As the host of the Summit, the HKSAR Government also took the occasion to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Emirate of Dubai to strengthen bilateral relations and co-operation, and to promote the mutual sustainable development of the financial services sectors of both places through exploring policy communication, knowledge exchange and collaboration opportunities in such areas as family offices, fintech, virtual assets, as well as green and sustainable finance.  After the Summit, I visited Qatar and Egypt to continue promoting the new opportunities from the B&R Initiative and enhanced co-operation between Hong Kong and the Middle East.  I also attended the 8th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.  From what I saw and heard during the visits, I have come up with the view that Hong Kong can foster co-operation with Qatar, Egypt and other countries along the B&R in three aspects, namely attracting capital investments, fostering technological advancements, and drawing in talented professionals.

In view of the enormous opportunities available in the Middle East markets, Mr Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, led a delegation to visit Doha of Qatar and Dubai of the UAE this week to meet with local political and business communities for exploring win-win business opportunities.  The delegation comprised over 50 representatives from the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), the Insurance Authority, and various sectors including wealth and asset management, green finance, fintech and Web3.  Apart from witnessing the signing of an MOU between the FSDC and the Qatar Financial Markets Authority, Mr Chan also had extensive exchanges on a number of key development areas of Hong Kong’s financial sector with various institutions and industries in Dubai, including the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and the Dubai Financial Market, briefing them on Hong Kong’s latest development in fintech, green and sustainable finance, and family office business.  When addressing the Dubai FinTech Summit and the Private Wealth Middle East Forum, Mr Chan introduced Hong Kong’s numerous advantages under “One Country, Two Systems”, such as a robust financial infrastructure, world-class professional services and a vast pool of asset and wealth management talent.  He also talked about Hong Kong’s vision of developing into a green fintech hub and some relevant policy initiatives launched recently, including the Green and Sustainable Fintech Proof-of-Concept Subsidy Scheme and the Hong Kong Green Fintech Map.

The Capital Markets Forum, co-organised by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and the Saudi Tadawul Group, was held and attended by 500 participants in Hong Kong today.  The Forum aimed at deepening the co-operation between financial markets in the Mainland, Hong Kong and the Middle East, and exploring opportunities in the areas of cross-boundary listing, equity acquisition, infrastructure enhancement and so on.  Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia have already taken forward co-operation in both listing and product aspects - the HKEX has included the Saudi Exchange into its list of Recognised Stock Exchanges, allowing Saudi-listed companies to apply for secondary listing in Hong Kong; the Asia-Pacific region’s first and the world’s largest Saudi Arabia Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has also been listed in the Hong Kong market.

Looking ahead, we will continue to encourage Hong Kong’s financial and professional services sectors to seek deeper and broader co-operation with the Middle East and other B&R regions.  Together we will keep cultivating new opportunities in the Middle East and create a brighter future for B&R co-operation.


9 May 2024