The Hong Kong Economic Times’ chief executive, Li Ka-chung, expressed his happiness at attending the “Convergence of Finance, Innovating the Future” conference and the Hong Kong Economic Times Business Awards ceremony. Li Ka-chung, speaking to distinguished visitors and friends, stressed Hong Kong’s potential for leveraging its strengths as an international financial hub and promoting the development of cutting-edge technology, notably in the field of Web3.0.
Hong Kong, which is well known for having one of the freest economies in the world and serving as the largest offshore RMB hub, has a very open and global market, well-aligned regulatory frameworks, a strong legal system, and a talent pool. As a city operating within the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, Hong Kong has the distinct advantage of fusing Chinese and international advantages, serving as a two-way entry point between the country and the worldwide financial markets.
In order to strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub, the current administration has undertaken major efforts. The “Bond Connect” Northbound trading link was notable for the past two months because it was formally introduced in mid-May. In addition, the Ministry of Finance this month in Hong Kong issued the first batch of RMB 12 billion in government bonds, with a total of RMB 30 billion to be issued throughout the year. A dual counterparty mechanism and the “HKD-RMB Dual Counter Model” were also introduced into the local securities market by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Hong Kong has made a name for itself as a pioneer in the financial industry and in RMB transactions conducted overseas. It has also become a leader in green finance in Asia, with the issuance of green and sustainable bonds reaching a record high of USD 80.5 billion last year, an increase of over 40% from the year before. As the largest metropolis in Asia, Hong Kong has a market share of almost one third in the Asian market for these bonds. The government launched the first government-backed tokenized green bond in the world in February of this year, embracing financial innovations related to Web3.0 while promoting the sustainable and responsible growth of the virtual asset sector.
The government’s promotion of financial innovation demonstrates its commitment to establishing Hong Kong as a global innovation and technology hub in accordance with the “14th Five-Year Plan” for the country. The “Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint” was unveiled by the government at the end of the previous year, and it included a number of policy initiatives that were in line with four main development objectives.
Notably, Hong Kong’s dedication to fostering a technical and inventive ecosystem has won praise from all around the world. In the “2023 Global Startup Ecosystem Report,” Hong Kong was rated second among the world’s top “Emerging Ecosystems” and first in Asia. This result reflects Hong Kong’s readiness to compete internationally and establish itself as an international city and confirms its commitment to creating a strong startup ecosystem.
The government has set aside HKD 10 billion to develop the “Industry-University-Research Collaboration Program” with the goal of fostering the commercialization of excellent research accomplishments in Hong Kong. This will improve the city’s innovation and technology ecosystem. Additionally, efforts are being made to create a supercomputer for artificial intelligence and a microelectronics research facility, which will provide all-encompassing assistance for regional scientific research.