Xu Zhengyu: Hong Kong will focus on developing the gold market next year and deepen cooperation with Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Recently, the Director of the Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Christopher Hui, stated in an interview with the media that Hong Kong will focus on developing the gold market next year and establish an international gold trading center. Hui pointed out that Hong Kong is actively integrating into the country's development strategy, seizing the opportunities of the Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta, deepening cooperation with Shanghai and Shenzhen in trading and refining, and in the future will establish a "Hong Kong import - Shenzhen refining - re-export overseas" interactive model to attract overseas gold refiners to Hong Kong. Currently, some companies are considering setting up refineries in Hong Kong. Hui stated that the goal of Hong Kong's gold gateway in the next three years is to reach at least 2,000 tons. Next year, a central clearing system for gold contract trading will be launched, and a gold industry association will be established to enhance Hong Kong's international influence in financial governance and gold pricing. Hui stated that the government's policies have already empowered the two regions. At the third meeting of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Financial Cooperation Committee on November 7 this year, the Hong Kong Treasury Department signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shenzhen Local Financial Supervision Authority to promote cooperation in the gold field between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, to support gold traders in Hong Kong and qualified refining companies in Shenzhen to carry out processing and trade cooperation in accordance with the law, and thus deepen the complementarity of Hong Kong and Shenzhen's gold industry advantages, jointly building a deeply integrated regional gold ecosystem. On the Shanghai side, the SAR government signed the "Shanghai-Hong Kong International Financial Center Cooperation Development Action Plan" with the Shanghai government on June 18 this year, and on June 26, the Shanghai Gold Exchange inaugurated its first offshore gold delivery warehouse in Hong Kong and simultaneously listed gold futures contracts for delivery in Hong Kong on its international board. This is a crucial step in the internationalization of the national gold market, expanding the global layout of RMB-denominated gold transactions and further deepening Hong Kong's role in the regional markets. Hong Kong's new stock market has been vibrant this year, almost certainly regaining its top spot in the global IPO market in terms of fundraising amount. Hui stated that in the future, competitiveness will be enhanced in three aspects: improving the predictability of listing time and strengthening post-listing services, expanding the types of listed companies, and promoting market internationalization and sustainable development. He mentioned that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is currently handling over 300 listing applications, reflecting the market's continued momentum. Since the emergence of DeepSeek earlier this year, which attracted global attention, international investors have shown renewed interest in Hong Kong, and the momentum of new stock listings is expected to continue into next year. Hui stated that since the implementation of the company relocation mechanism in May, five applications have been approved, with over 20 more applications being processed, indicating a strong market response. In September, it successfully attracted over 200 family offices ahead of schedule, with the goal of attracting another 220 family offices in the next three years. Regarding the "New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme," Hui mentioned that they have received over 2,600 applications, bringing in over HK$78 billion in potential investments. The Hong Kong SAR government will submit a single bill for tax concessions dating back to April this year and is studying tax arrangements to encourage companies to establish financial centers in Hong Kong to attract overseas fund management businesses.