Acting SFST’s opening remarks on financial services at LegCo Finance Committee special meeting

At a special convention of the Legislative Council on April 12, 2023, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (FST), Mr. Joseph Chan, presented his budget proposal for legislative year 2023-24. Besides the straight numbers, the Secretary also presented a brief summary of the upcoming areas of focus of the FST which include the following:
(1) Enhancing market competitiveness: To further enhance the competitiveness of the Hong Kong financial market, particularly as regards asset and wealth management, the FST will review and „refine“ the current regulatory tax exemption measures (e.g. the tax exemption for certain family office fund arrangements). The goal is to attract both capital and talent to Hong Kong. Additionally, the FST will further „promote the issuance and trading of RMB securities in Hong Kong“ by setting up a new RMB trading counter under Stock Connect and by enhancing „the Bond Connect and the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme in the Greater Bay Area (GBA)“. The Secretary also notes that the FST will look at further products (e.g. RMB bond futures) that can be offered in Hong Kong and will – together with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) – refine the current listing rules and trading mechanism to facilitate more trading in line with current investor expectations. Finally, the FST will look into improving the bond issuance process, particularly the one involving tokenised green government bonds, based on the experience it has gained with the latest issues.
(2) Seizing new opportunities: In this context, the Secretary primarily noted the upcoming setup of the a Green Technology and Finance Development Committee which will be responsible for promoting green technology and finance in Hong Kong. Additionally, the FST will be engaged in taking forward important FinTech projects, such as the development of a new e-HKD, Hong Kong’s digital bank currency, or the development of PromptPay, a faster payment method which permits retail payments via the use of QR-codes. Also, the FST is working on the introduction of the new re-domiciliation scheme for companies which will allow companies to relocate to Hong Kong by simply transferring their business – so to speak – to Hong Kong without having to terminate the legal structure of the company (please see EventID 20466 in this context for more information).
(3) Promoting financial inclusiveness and nurturing talent: To further foster (indirect) investments in green bonds by Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) investors, the FST plans to dedicate a certain proportion of the future issuances of government institutional green bonds and infrastructure bonds for MPFs. Additionally, the FST will issue Silver Bonds worth over $50 billion and green retail bonds worth around $15 billion in the upcoming fiscal period which should provide ample of possibilities for retail investors. To promote the attraction of qualified personnel, the FST plans to introduce an additional internship program for students and extend the current Pilot Programs in the insurance and wealth management sector.