New York Mercantile Exchange Chairman talks about the closure of Hainan: Policy certainty determines the competitiveness of free trade ports.

The "2025 Sanya Finance and Economics International Forum and the 5th Sanya Wealth Management Conference" was held on December 27th. Chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange Board William Purpura stated that the operation of the Hainan Free Trade Port represents an important institutional moment. International experience shows that in the next stage, what will determine its future is not the amount of preferential policies, but predictability, operational efficiency, transparency, and institutional credibility. William Purpura said that what truly determines competitiveness is not tax incentives, but certainty. It is this predictability that reduces risk premiums, improves market liquidity, and attracts long-term, sustained market participation. For Hainan, policy stability and unified rule enforcement may be more important than adding new incentive measures. Hainan not only has the opportunity to benchmark international standards, but also the opportunity to demonstrate to the world how a modern free trade port can operate confidently and soundly in the multilateral trade system.