David Liao calls for policy optimization in Beijing to facilitate cross-border financing

HSBC (0005) Asia and the Middle East co-chief executive David Liao Yi-chien said Beijing should optimise its cross-border financing policies, as core eligibility criteria under current pilot schemes remain narrow.

Liao, who is also a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, proposed broadening the eligibility criteria for pilot programmes. Measures include removing restrictions on company types, setting up dedicated green channels for dual-carbon projects, and introducing baseline quotas for non-tech-innovation enterprises under existing special external debt quotas to meet cross-border financing needs.

Liao further recommended moderately increasing external debt quotas for growth-stage enterprises with high research and development investment, as well as relatively mature companies. For well-established multinational enterprises, external debt quotas could be managed dynamically in line with the scale of shareholders' equity.

In addition, Liao proposed strengthening exchanges and cooperation between international investors and financial institutions and Beijing's government investment fund project pool, to further streamline communication channels.

Cynthia ZHONG