As consumption and infrastructure demand from emerging markets expands, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will further strengthen its role as a key hub for both “bringing in” and “going global” strategies through the upcoming Belt and Road Summit, the city’s financial chief said on Sunday.
Having got more than 100 Belt and Road companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, with a combined market capitalization exceeding HK$340 billion ($43.4 billion), Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the SAR’s advantages and expertise in financial services have provided crucial support for regional cooperation.
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Writing in his weekly blog, Chan said 82 bonds from Belt and Road regions had gone public in Hong Kong as of July this year, including offshore renminbi bonds issued by governments and State-owned institutions, as well as enterprises from Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East in recent years, raising more than HK$470 billion.
In the past five years, the combined share of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Middle East and Central Asia in Hong Kong’s total trade has risen to about 17 percent, with an average annual growth rate of nearly 10 percent, while the ASEAN region has consistently been Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner since 2010.
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With comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements having been signed with 43 jurisdictions from Belt and Road regions, Hong Kong expects to further assist enterprises in expanding their operations in the city, lowering trade costs, and liberating regional growth potential, Chan said.
In this process, the renminbi’s share in regional trade and financing continues to rise, and Hong Kong is facilitating the diversification of trade currencies as the world’s largest offshore renminbi hub. Backed by the People’s Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority expanded its total renminbi business facility to 500 billion yuan ($74.5 billion) in July.
Contact the writer at rayjia@chinadailyhk.com
