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Global financial leaders from BNP Paribas, Barclays, and State Street Corporation highlighted at the 5th Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit on Tuesday that more businesses are relocating to Hong Kong, given its close connection with the Chinese mainland.
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BNP Paribas: Hong Kong As Yuan Financing Bridge
BNP Paribas chairman Jean Lemierre noted that Hong Kong is becoming an ever more important bridge for funding in yuan between China and Europe.
Lemierre pointed out that companies today place greater emphasis on localization, local professional talent and the need for financial hubs, and that Hong Kong is an ideal place to achieve these goals, adding that companies in Asia face growing demand for regional treasury management, in which Hong Kong plays a key role.
He said European companies in Asia require more local financing, currency hedging and treasury management services, while Chinese companies expanding into Europe need euro financing and a better understanding of local regulations. Hong Kong can therefore serve as a bridge for two-way capital flows.
State Street: Gateway to the Chinese Market
European counterpart, Ronald P. O’Hanley, State Street Corporation chairman and chief executive, further noted that China’s role is one of the most important factors in the transformation of the global economy, and that Hong Kong serves as the gateway connecting to the Chinese market.
O’Hanley specifically mentioned Bond Connect, while affirming Hong Kong’s uniqueness for the practical operation of cross-border investment and financial market infrastructure.
“It's this kind of movement of money north and south and movement of capital north and south that Hong Kong is playing that role,” he said.
Barclays: Major Financial Centers Need Strong Hinterlands
“It's important for the international financial centers like Hong Kong to do what you're doing, which is to have fair and transparent regulation, to promote growth, and to make it easy for people to operate,” Barclays group chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan echoed.
“And so the link of Hong Kong to China that we saw earlier today is very important, but great financial centers have hinterlands,” he said, pairing Hong Kong with New York and London as one of the major international financial centers.
UBS: Family Offices Seek Greater Diversification
Meanwhile, UBS Group chief executive Sergio P. Ermotti noted that global corporations are reconfiguring their supply chain amid geopolitical shifts post-COVID, with 60 percent of global family offices intending to change their asset allocation within the next twelve months to increase diversification across regions and currencies.
Ermotti noted that the change is not mainly about exiting major growth sectors, but about diversification – specifically currency diversification, regional diversification, and better management of overall exposures in areas of public or listed markets, private markets, and regulatory overlays.
