The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, today (October 15) to begin his visit, attending the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group and related events as a member of the Chinese delegation.
Mr Chan attended a high-level roundtable co-organised by the IMF and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to explore how economies in the Middle East and Central Asia can better benefit from the vast opportunities offered by Hong Kong's investment and financing markets. Heads of finance ministries and central banks from a number of countries in these regions took part. In his keynote speech, Mr Chan said that the increasingly close financial ties between Hong Kong and the Middle East and Central Asia help investors diversify their investments and enable enterprises to better raise capital for business development and manage risks. As these economies continue to develop and diversify, Hong Kong can support their growth in three areas: mobilising long-term capital, broadening currency options, and managing and sharing risks.
On mobilising long-term capital, Mr Chan pointed out that Hong Kong's common law system under "one country, two systems", free flow of capital, Linked Exchange Rate System, diverse investor base, and connectivity with both Mainland and international capital markets provide a solid foundation for investment. Hong Kong ranked first globally in funds raised through initial public offerings last year. In the first nine months of this year, funds raised reached nearly US$50 billion, more than double the amount in the same period last year and already exceeding last year's full-year total. Hong Kong also supports industries in reducing emissions and transitioning to greener operations through green and sustainable finance. Infrastructure asset securitisation helps broaden the investor base and enables lenders to recycle capital into new projects.
On broadening currency options, Mr Chan said that Hong Kong is continuing to enhance its offshore Renminbi (RMB) ecosystem to facilitate financing, settlement and investment by enterprises and investors. This helps enterprises with close business ties with the Mainland reduce currency conversion risks and better align the currencies of their receipts, payments and borrowings. Hong Kong has the world's largest offshore RMB liquidity pool, with deposits of around RMB1.3 trillion. With the support of the People's Bank of China, the HKMA expanded the funding arrangements supporting RMB trade business to RMB500 billion in July, further meeting enterprises' financing needs.
On managing and sharing risks, Mr Chan noted that Hong Kong has facilitated seven issuances of catastrophe bonds totalling around US$800 million since 2021. These bonds bring in capital market investors to share catastrophe risks, providing additional protection against major disasters and strengthening the resilience of businesses and communities.
Mr Chan invited international multilateral organisations, financial institutions and insurers to work together in innovative ways to promote more efficient capital mobilisation and risk management, enabling all parties to share in the benefits of economic development. He said that Hong Kong's concentration of relevant professional expertise, abundant capital and extensive experience can help structure projects to make them bankable, fostering a virtuous cycle in which investment drives growth and growth creates investment opportunities.
The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, and senior management members of three major banks in Hong Kong also attended the roundtable.
Mr Chan also called on the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Zhang Jianwei, today to exchange views on Thailand's economy, China-Thailand relations and the international landscape. Mr Chan gave an update on Hong Kong's economy and an overview of the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030). The two sides also had in-depth exchanges on further strengthening economic and trade co-operation and people-to-people exchanges between Hong Kong and Thailand.
He also met with the Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific of the International Finance Corporation, Mr Sarvesh Suri, for in-depth exchanges on strengthening co-operation in a number of areas. These included more effectively mobilising private capital to support sustainable development in infrastructure, education, healthcare and the digital economy in the region, and participating in the formulation of relevant international standards; strengthening financing support for trade, supply chains and small and medium-sized enterprises; using financial instruments such as catastrophe bonds to manage and share climate risks; and enhancing co-operation in talent training.
Mr Chan will continue his visit to Bangkok tomorrow (October 16), including attending the plenary session of the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group.
