Xu Zhengyu: Make efforts from three perspectives to promote Hong Kong to become a world-class international capital market.

May 20th, Hong Kong Financial Secretary and Treasury Bureau Director Paul Chan attended one of the Hong Kong New Quality Productivity Forum series - the World-Class Capital Market Construction Forum, and met with the media after the forum. He stated that efforts should be made from three directions to promote Hong Kong as an international first-class capital market. The first direction is to continuously expand the existing financial value chain, from stocks and bonds to currency and commodities. Therefore, promoting RMB internationalization, establishing the gold market, and promoting commodity metal warehousing are all part of expanding the financial value chain. The second major direction is to create new financial areas, including financial technology, virtual assets, stable coins, and green finance. This week, efforts will be made to seek the Legislative Council's support to establish a legal framework for stable coins. There is a high demand for this in the market, so continuous innovation and expansion of new markets are necessary. The third major direction is to serve the country's development strategy well, especially in serving mainland Chinese companies going global through Hong Kong. In the past decade, mainland companies have been improving in competitiveness and scale, and they need internationalization. From the perspective of Hong Kong, providing them with a good platform and a range of professional services, including finance, accounting, law, and arbitration, will support these companies in their internationalization process. The next step is to do well in this area and better align with the country's development strategy and the needs of mainland companies going global.The old system is collapsing, and that may be a good opportunity for the internationalization of the RMB. What do you think about this issue? Is now a good time for the internationalization of the RMB, and what should Hong Kong do?Director of Financial Affairs and Treasury: Hong Kong is now the largest offshore RMB hub of our country. Currently, about 80% of RMB transactions conducted offshore are done through Hong Kong. Hong Kong has accumulated a significant amount of RMB funds, estimated to be over 1 trillion RMB. Next, we will continue to promote RMB internationalization through various channels, including facilitating connectivity between the mainland and our market, as well as further optimizing connectivity, especially through schemes like stock connect and bond connect. This continuous effort has always been ongoing. Reporter: Today you mentioned inviting many enterprises to Hong Kong to understand how to establish themselves here. Can you share some of the recent incentives for mainland companies, possibly A-share companies, interested in setting up in Hong Kong? Director of Financial Affairs and Treasury: Hong Kong has always been an international financial center, and the government aims to attract more industries to establish themselves in Hong Kong through financial means. We welcome high-quality mainland enterprises to set up in Hong Kong, not just for financing or fundraising purposes, but to use Hong Kong as a platform for further global expansion. This can be done through various channels, such as setting up industrial chains in Hong Kong. To support this trend, the company relocation scheme will come into effect this Friday, allowing mainland companies with overseas entities to easily move their companies to Hong Kong without the need to establish new entities. This is one of the measures to promote mainland companies' "going global". Reporter: You also mentioned the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong, which many people are interested in. Some major exchanges might not have licenses yet and are still applying. In this process, how will you invite these exchanges to cooperate with them? Director of Financial Affairs and Treasury: Hong Kong has always received high international recognition in financial regulation, so compliance and legality are our first priorities. Recently, the Securities and Futures Commission released a roadmap that aims to encourage licensed institutions to innovate more in terms of products and services. Next, we will do our best to further promote these licensed institutions to develop their businesses more effectively in Hong Kong. Through the Hong Kong market, we aim to promote sustainable and responsible development of the entire market. Reporter: You have participated in the "Top 100 Hong Kong Stocks", which serves as a benchmark for the Hong Kong capital market. What new perspectives and directions do you hope to see in this year's "Top 100 Hong Kong Stocks" to support the development of Hong Kong's capital market? Director of Financial Affairs and Treasury: Hong Kong's goal has always been not just to be a financing center, but to leverage its financial strengths to attract industries. I believe that the capital market also reflects Hong Kong's dual development in finance and industry. Whether it's the top 100 or other indices, it should reflect the trend of simultaneous development of the real economy and the finance and industry sectors in Hong Kong. May 20, 2025 (Tuesday) 19:20 Hong Kong Time