Hong Kong’s finance chief has set an ambitious new marker for the city’s role in global markets, telling investors this week that he is confident the SAR can climb to “at least” second place among the world’s international financial centres within the next 10 to 15 years.
Speaking at the HSBC Global Investment Summit, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Hong Kong would not be content to remain third in global rankings, arguing that the city’s core strengths and policy support give it room to move higher.
Hong Kong currently ranks third worldwide and first in Asia-Pacific in the latest Global Financial Centres Index compiled by London think tank Z/Yen and Shenzhen’s China Development Institute, just behind New York and London and narrowly ahead of Singapore.
Chan said the government’s strategy is to “enrich our offerings,” broadening beyond equities into fixed income, currencies, green and sustainable finance, and building out its role as a regional family office hub.
[See more: Hong Kong stablecoins deepen US dollar peg while opening a path for offshore RMB tokens]
Officials have also stressed Hong Kong’s status as the world’s largest offshore renminbi centre and a leading cross‑border wealth management platform, areas where they see further room to grow.
Recent policy initiatives are designed to underpin that climb. The 2026‑27 Budget highlighted a “Finance+” strategy to deepen the equity market, strengthen the bond and currency markets, and accelerate digital‑asset and green‑finance development, positioning Hong Kong as a comprehensive capital‑raising hub for mainland and international issuers.
New regimes for virtual assets and stablecoins, along with targeted tax tweaks for asset and wealth management, aim to attract more family offices and institutional investors to base operations in the city.
Chan also framed Hong Kong’s aspirations squarely within national priorities, saying the SAR would use its international financial centre status to support the country’s push to become a financial powerhouse and to help mainland enterprises “go global”. He pointed to rising incomes on the mainland and growing demand for overseas asset allocation as generating “tremendous opportunities” for Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management industry over the coming decade.
Source link