The financial sector’s core mission is to support the stable long-term development of the real economy, says Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu.
Hui told local media that the Hong Kong government is actively promoting innovation and breakthroughs in both the commodities and virtual assets markets. He noted that the financial industry currently accounts for nearly 25 percent of the city’s gross domestic product.
To reinforce Hong Kong’s position as a financial hub, Hui emphasized the need to entice industries to set up operations in the city on its financial basis. He said this would be facilitated through the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises and overseas visits by local officials.
He highlighted that advanced manufacturing, which requires relatively limited land but yields high added value, presents a promising development path for Hong Kong.
Hui also underlined the importance of enhancing Hong Kong’s trade and settlement platforms for gold and precious metals.
Separately, Hui shared that the SAR government successfully priced nearly HK$27 billion worth of multicurrency green and infrastructure bonds this month, including the inaugural issuance of 30-year Hong Kong dollar government bonds. The bonds were 3.3 to 12.5 times oversubscribed.
He said the strong demand reflects international investors’ high confidence in the SAR government’s creditworthiness and Hong Kong’s long-term prospects.
The government will continue to issue bonds across different maturities to establish a benchmark yield curve and further develop the local bond market, Hui said.
STAFF REPORTER
