Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po poses for a photo during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan 15, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po kicked off his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday, meeting world financial heavyweights to discuss strengthening links with countries in the Middle East, and technological cooperation.
He first met with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Mohammed Al-Jadaan.
Highlighting the progress in financial cooperation between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Middle East, Chan called for Saudi Arabia’s capital and enterprises to utilize the SAR as a high-quality platform to expand into the Chinese mainland and Asian markets.
The HKSAR has been stepping up efforts to promote the city and attract new investment opportunities to restore its image as Asia’s world city.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po (second left) and Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah (first left) meet with Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Jadaan (first right) during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan 15, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
Since Hong Kong began its post-pandemic reopening last year, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and other officials have led delegations to various parts of the world, including the Middle East, to develop potential business collaboration, and more such trips are in the pipeline.
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In a sign of closer ties gaining pace, Asia’s first exchange-traded fund tracking Saudi Arabian equities debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last year. Through the fund, Hong Kong investors can trade in Saudi stocks, including those of Saudi Aramco and Saudi National Bank, in Hong Kong dollars or the Chinese yuan.
A much-anticipated move is Hong Kong’s bid to woo oil giant Saudi Aramco and its units to apply for a secondary listing in the city. The Saudi state-run company, which pumps almost 10 percent of the world’s oil supplies, raised $29 billion in Riyadh in 2019, making it the world’s largest listing on record. With a market capitalization of over $2 trillion, it’s the third-most valuable company after US tech giants Apple and Microsoft.
The five-day forum in the Swiss mountain resort opened on Monday with the theme “Rebuilding Trust”. At last year’s annual gathering, Chan updated participants on the pace of Hong Kong’s post-pandemic recovery, and expressed optimism about the city’s economic growth.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po (second right) and Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah (first right) meet with co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial Jeremy Allaire (second left) during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan 15, 2024. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
Chan also met with representatives of a financial technology firm - the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin - telling them that Hong Kong is pressing ahead with developing virtual assets in a “prudent and orderly manner”.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau jointly published a consultation paper in December last year to gather public views on a legislative proposal to regulate stablecoin issuers.
READ MORE: Chan to showcase Hong Kong's opportunities during Swiss trip
Chan highlighted Hong Kong’s scientific strengths and its bid to promote its technology sector at a meeting with officials of an Israeli unicorn in artificial intelligence unicorn - the talk of the town that led to a rapid rise in investments in the past few years following the surge in popularity of the AI chatbot, ChatGPT.
Chan said Hong Kong has put in “substantial resources” to develop AI as an industry, including the establishment of an AI Supercomputing Centre, and welcomed relevant companies to start operations in the city.
