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The strategy of bringing in and going out to foster borderless development

With Hong Kong back on the road to full economic recovery, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has adopted a strategy, which can be summed up as “bringing in and going out to foster borderless development”, for promoting the development of our financial market.  The Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit was successfully held in end-March, attracting over 100 decision makers from global family offices and their professional teams.  Meanwhile, the Policy Statement on Developing Family Office Businesses in Hong Kong was also issued to promote the development of family office business in Hong Kong with eight targeted policy measures.  While Hong Kong is “bringing in” global wealth owners, my team and I have “gone out” straightaway to visit Brussels of Belgium and London of the United Kingdom (UK), telling our good financial stories to the international market.


There are specific reasons for choosing Brussels and London as the places of my visit.  Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the administrative center of Europe, where the headquarters of various departments and administrative agencies of the European Union (EU) are located.  During my visit, I attended a meeting with Mr Benjamin Angel, the Director for Direct Taxation, Tax Coordination, Economic Analysis and Evaluation, DG TAXUD (Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union) of the European Commission, where I reiterated Hong Kong’s commitment to upholding the prevailing international tax requirements against cross-border tax avoidance and to working closely with the EU in tackling harmful tax practices.  On the new foreign-sourced income exemption regime which took effect in Hong Kong this January, I was pleased to note that the EU considered the new regime fully in compliance with their requirements with regard to dividends, interest and intellectual property income.

On green and sustainable finance, which is one of our priority development areas, the EU and Hong Kong share common visions and objectives.  The EU has put forward a set of proposals named “Fit for 55” to revise and update EU legislation and to put in place new initiatives with the aim of ensuring that EU policies are in line with the climate goals agreed by the European Council and the European Parliament.  The requirement of reducing at least 55% in carbon emission by 2030 will be made a legal obligation in Europe.  In this regard, Hong Kong has also laid down the targets of reducing carbon emission by 50% before 2035 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2050.  To achieve tangible results in green transformation, both EU and Hong Kong need capital raised in the green and sustainable finance market.  Hence, we see huge room and potential for co-operation between both sides.

For the UK, we have been maintaining close ties on trade and economic co-operation for a long time.  On the development of financial technology (“fintech”), we are both working on a sustainable regulatory regime for the development of the virtual asset industry.  To foster innovation and provide regulatory certainty, the UK Treasury has put forward proposals in a consultation paper published earlier on various business activities relating to virtual assets, including their exchange, custody and lending activities, with a view to bringing them into the regulatory perimeter of financial services.  For Hong Kong, we issued a Policy Statement on Development of Virtual Assets last year.  In the future, we can explore together with the UK a sustainable and innovative development path for the global virtual asset industry.

To tell the good financial stories of Hong Kong, I shared with participants at the luncheon of the Hong Kong Association of the UK our financial strengths as represented by the alphabets “ABCDE”, which stands for “Asia”, “Business as usual”, “Connectivity”, “Digitalisation” and “ESG”.

  1. Asia: Economic growth in Asia is set to speed up after the pandemic. The World Bank has projected that the East Asia and Pacific region will benefit from the accelerated growth of the Mainland economy and register an overall economic growth of 5.1% in 2023, up from 3.5% of the previous year.  Being Asia’s world city, Hong Kong will connect the UK with the opportunities so presented.
  1. Business as usual: Hong Kong is now on the path to full recovery and has reconnected with the international community. Our unique advantages under “One Country, Two Systems” will continue to bring opportunities for global enterprises and talents.
  1. Connectivity: Various pioneering mutual access schemes between the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong are in place. We are also the largest offshore Renminbi (“RMB”) centre.  Relevant initiatives on financial development, such as the setting up of RMB stock trading counters, will enhance the breadth and depth of our market.
  1. Digitalisation: Hong Kong has a perfect ecosystem for fintech development. We are also well-prepared in terms of policy and regulation for the sustainable and orderly development of virtual assets and Web3.
  1. ESG: Given Hong Kong’s role as a leading green and sustainable finance hub, we have also launched a grant scheme to encourage active participation of private enterprises in green financing.

During my visit to the UK, I met with many local financial and business professionals, many of whom have worked and lived in Hong Kong, having great accomplishments in our city.  Being confident in Hong Kong's socio-economic development and prospects, and particularly recognising Hong Kong's unique advantages as the most international city in our country, they hope that we can continue to consolidate and enhance our position as an international financial and business centre by taking advantage of the opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.

Recently, Mr Xia Baolong, Director of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of State Council, visited Hong Kong and delivered a keynote speech, stressing that by fostering opportunities and wealth for investors from all over the world, Hong Kong is a place that creates miracles one after another.  I am very much encouraged and will continue to go overseas to tell the good financial stories of Hong Kong.  For my next stop, I will be visiting Incheon of Korea in early May to participate in the Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank, during which I will exchange views with global participants on the theme of “Rebounding Asia: Recover, Reconnect, and Reform” and continue to promote the financial strengths of Hong Kong.

24 April 2023