Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday that the recent Beijing crackdown on securities only targets illegal cross-border investment, while China still encourages compliant capital to flow into Hong Kong.
In the Bloomberg Invest Hong Kong event, Chan noted that Hong Kong continues to cooperate with the mainland within various sectors, including refining the cross-boundary wealth management connect scheme in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, expanding individual investment amounts in GBA, and so on.
Regarding some banks' halt on opening new accounts for mainland clients, Chan emphasized that different banks have different measures for setting up new accounts for customers from the mainland.
Mainlanders maintain a strong demand for offshore investment allocation, he said, adding that the crackdown aims to channel capital flows from lawful sources, as some funds were previously seen entering the city through irregular channels.
Chan pointed out that Hong Kong's products remain competitive and attractive. The government is discussing with relevant departments in mainland China to build an institution that offers customer services, excluding selling products, he added.
He believed that if the initiative is processed within compliant channels, it can eliminate the mainland government's concerns while boosting the government's confidence.
In terms of the city's initial public offering market, he noted that more than 400 companies are in the pipeline, while Hong Kong is exploring dual listing opportunities with other markets, including South Korea, the Middle East, and ASEAN.
Hong Kong's wealth management industry also maintains strong momentum, with over US$400 billion (HK$3.13 trillion) net fund inflow into the city's funds last year, he added.
Responding to reports that mainland Chinese and Hong Kong investors declined to participate in the SpaceX IPO, Chan said the move is detrimental to the US, adding that it should not shut out global capital.
Shanghai and Shenzhen have many tech firms with attractive valuations, and some sovereign funds are investing multiple advanced sectors like health technology through Hong Kong, he said.
The top priority for Hong Kong is to focus on its own strengths, such as optimizing the listing framework and elevating liquidity, Chan said.
