HK can claim world's second-largest IFC title in 10 to 15 years, Paul Chan says

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po expressed his confidence in Hong Kong to become the world's second-largest international financial center in the next 10 to 15 years on Tuesday's HSBC Global Investment Summit in Hong Kong.

Chan also said he is confident in the mainland's growth over the next 10 years, which will bring huge opportunities for Hong Kong's asset and wealth management sector, as mainland residents' incomes rise and their demand for external assets increases.

Chan said that although Hong Kong has experienced many ups and downs over the past decades, Hong Kong people are highly adaptable, and the business community is extremely resourceful in responding to geopolitical changes.

He noted that Hong Kong's exports of goods recorded double-digit growth in the first two months of this year, as the industrial and trade sectors have already reconfigured their production and supply chains to places such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. He believes Hong Kong is actively responding to the trade war and is benefiting from it.

Chan said Hong Kong has always been seen as the gateway and platform for the mainland to access international markets, and the 15th Five-Year Plan provides high-quality development, with one of its major pillars encouraging mainland enterprises to go global.

He said the government has established a dedicated task force to coordinate professional bodies, private organizations, and government and statutory bodies to help mainland enterprises expand into overseas markets and provide assistance in matters such as risk management, compliance, and ESG, which also brings new opportunities for Hong Kong.

As Hong Kong issued the first batch of two stablecoin issuer licenses last week, Chan said stablecoins are financial innovations built on blockchain technology that benefit cross-border payments, including decentralization, high speed, low cost, and strong privacy. But they also bring risks to financial stability and consumer and producer protection.

He noted that Hong Kong has introduced a licensing regime to allow stablecoins to develop in a sustainable and responsible manner under regulatory and governance oversight, and that market participants welcome the regime, citing that it is beneficial to Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center and to its regulatory status.