Hong Kong to constantly benchmark itself against London and New York, finance chief vows
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan tells Post forum that city will remain ‘financial market [where] the Western countries have a substantial stake’
- At the same time, Hong Kong can ‘collaborate with neighbouring cities’ in areas where it is weak, he says
Hong Kong will constantly benchmark itself against London and New York in its aim to remain as a top international financial centre with Western countries having a substantial stake in it, the city’s financial chief has said.
Chan was asked how he viewed Hong Kong’s traditional role as an international financial centre when other southern Chinese cities that made up the Greater Bay Area were also aggressively stepping their efforts to grow in new directions.
“Where do we bench ourselves?” I am benchmarking ourselves against London and New York,” he said, touting Hong Kong’s common law system, free flow of capital and independent judiciary.
“This will be a financial market [where] the Western countries have a substantial stake.”
As an example, the minister noted American banks’ business interests in Hong Kong remained “significant”.
The New York Stock Exchange, the largest in the world, has a market capitalisation of US$42.8 trillion, while the figure for the London Stock Exchange is US$3.03 trillion, as of Monday. Hong Kong’s stands at about US$5.25 trillion.
