Attacks on HK’s international financial hub status ‘groundless’: political advisor

The assertion that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has become a "ruin of an international financial center" is groundless, as the basic elements underpinning Hong Kong's status as a global financial center have not changed, and the region has been further leveraging its role as a super connector between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world, Brian David Li Man-bun, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and co-chief executive of the Bank of East Asia (BEA), told the Global Times on Thursday.

"Hong Kong has a number of competitive edges in the global financial market, including the common law system, a simple low tax system and professional services and regulatory systems that are in line with international standards," Li said.

BEA is a Hong Kong public bank based in the HKSAR.

He also highlighted the guarantee on free flows of capital under the Basic Law, good financial infrastructure, a stable and favorable business environment as well as a stable and efficient banking system, among other things.

In 2022, Hong Kong received a total of $117.7 billion in foreign direct investment, ranking fourth in the world after the US, the Chinese mainland and Singapore, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

In addition, "Hong Kong has made significant progress in such finance-related sectors as green finance, fintech and offshore yuan business, which also paves the way for its development," Li added.

As a next step, Li suggested that Hong Kong integrate further into the national development, and make a greater contribution to the country's high-level opening-up. These efforts would also be conducive to enhancing the city's global financial status, while providing a solid foundation for its economic recovery this year.

The Central Financial Work Conference held last October called for accelerating the building of a nation with a strong financial sector. Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank, said at a press briefing on Wednesday that expanding opening-up is an important propeller and assurance of the high-quality development of China's financial industry.

Li noted that Hong Kong, as the world's largest offshore yuan business center, has an outsize role to play in facilitating the globalization of the yuan.

"More countries and regions have shown concern about excessive reliance on the US dollar amid rising geopolitical tensions, and many, having strong confidence in the Chinese mainland's economic outlook, have boosted their use of the yuan in payments, investments and reserves," Li explained.

Li also urged Hong Kong to double down on its efforts to expand issues of yuan-denominated financial products, such as promoting the Hong Kong dollar-yuan dual-currency share counter service across the equity market.

Li, as a veteran banker, has witnessed the rising asset management demand of Chinese mainland residents in the past decade, which he said was partly thanks to the expansion of the 400 million middle-income populations.

He suggested expanding the scope of the financial connect programs between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, in addition to the Stock, Bond and Cross-Boundary Wealth Management connects.

The Stock Connect, announced in 2014, now contributes 11 percent of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd's revenue, and 15 percent of average daily turnover in Hong Kong, according to a report by Fitch Ratings.

The average daily turnover of the Bond Connect surged to almost 49 billion yuan in January 2024 from 3.6 billion yuan in 2018, the report said.