As finance, law and technology converge, Hong Kong is renewing its core strength in bridging regions and markets — a role that continues to define the city’s relevance in a fast-evolving global landscape, top official and experts told the Greater Bay Area Conference 2025 in Hong Kong on Thursday.

In his keynote speech, Cheung Kwok-kwan, acting secretary for justice of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, highlighted three pillars that underpin the city’s leadership in the new area of collaboration, represented by its “robust legal framework, world-class legal services and pioneering advances in legal cooperation through the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area framework”.

“Hong Kong’s stable and dynamic environment is a pillar of its strength as an international financial center, and a catalyst for deeper collaboration and innovation in the Greater Bay Area. With a world-class financial regulatory environment, unparalleled legal expertise and effective legal cooperation with the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong solidifies our indispensable role as the pioneer gateway for finance, business and investment in the Greater Bay Area and beyond,” said Cheung, whose address set the tone for the panel discussion themed “Innovative Finance Connectivity — Hong Kong Driving New Frontiers in Cross-border Cooperation”.

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Roden Tong Man-lung, president of the Law Society of Hong Kong, recalled his visit earlier this year to the Middle East as part of a joint business delegation led by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

Riding high on the growing connectivity between Hong Kong and the Middle East, Tong underscored the principle of “law comes first”, where Hong Kong’s well-established legal industry is eyeing to play a bigger role by providing high-quality professional legal services to safeguard cross-border trade activities and support high-quality growth.

What sets the HKSAR apart, Tong pointed out, is the fact that “we are the one and only bilingual English-Chinese common law jurisdiction in the world.”

Stephen Law Cheuk-kin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, adviser to Ministry of Finance and vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, underlined the common law system as one of major contributing factors to the HKSAR’s entrenched status as a world-renowned financial center.

As the city is now bolstering its vision of becoming a crucible for testing the best global technological solutions, Law said he has seen a raft of policies, regulations and guidelines securely in place to put Hong Kong on the leading edge of financial technology.

“We will target to be Asia’s number one virtual financial center,” he stressed.

For Law, the story unfolding today is reminiscent of his investment adventure in the internet 20 years ago, when he had witnessed early failures and hard-earned success.

He called for more patience and persistence. “In a new industry which is where virtual assets are right now, we should not be affected by the time. Those remaining will be very successful,” Law noted.

Deng Chao, chief executive officer of HashKey Capital, said he regards his company as a living embodiment of how Hong Kong is an ideal place to grow an innovative business.

The company hit the road in 2017 from Cyberport, engaging in emerging areas of digital assets, blockchain, and crypto space, sectors Hong Kong has led since introducing a regulatory framework in 2018.

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According to Deng, the regulatory framework stands as a significant starting point of the hard road that the company has taken to build up its software infrastructure. He said he was encouraged by a clear record of concerted work and industry support along the journey.

Over the past decade, Deng has seen the connection and convergence of the two worlds of traditional finance and innovative finance. “In fact, the standards and practices are being learned and borrowed by our Web3 industry, while the industry itself is being accepted more and more by the mainstream,” he said.

For Hui Kai-lung, acting dean and Elman Family Professor of Business at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, Hong Kong’s enduring edge lies not only in its institutions and markets, but also in its people. “We do not only have talent. We have the quality talent and some of the best universities in the world,” he said.

Contact the writer at sophialuo@chinadailyhk.com