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Policy Address

International Financial Centre

37. Hong Kong is an international financial centre, the world's largest offshore RMB business centre and a leading fundraising hub for biotechnology. The financial services sector is Hong Kong's biggest pillar industry, accounting for more than one-fifth of our gross domestic product. To enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in financial services, we will:

  1. enhance our position as a global fundraising platform – The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) will revise the Main Board Listing Rules next year to facilitate fundraising of advanced technology enterprises that have yet to meet the profit and trading record requirements. It is also planning to revitalise GEM (formally known as the Growth Enterprise Market) to provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups with a more effective fundraising platform;

  2. enhance our strengths as the largest offshore RMB business centre – Hong Kong currently processes about 75% of offshore RMB settlement globally. We will promote the launch of more RMB-denominated investment tools and the provision of stable and highly efficient treasury services such as foreign exchange, exchange rate risk and interest rate risk management tools in the market. We will also enhance market infrastructure;

  3. promote mutual market access – We will speed up the implementation of a series of mutual market access arrangements supported by the China Securities Regulatory Commission earlier, including introducing a bill within this year to exempt the stamp duty payable for transactions conducted by dual-counter market makers, with a view to enhancing the RMB stock trading mechanism, as well as completing preparations for the launch of the Northbound Trading of Swap Connect as early as possible. We will also explore enhancements to the Southbound Trading of Bond Connect so as to facilitate the issuance and trading of more diverse "dim sum" bonds, and continue the discussion with the Mainland on proposals for the further expansion of mutual market access. Moreover, we will strive to establish insurance after-sales service centres in places such as Nansha and Qianhai in the near future to provide support services for residents in the GBA holding Hong Kong policies. This is also an important step towards mutual access of insurance markets in the GBA;

  4. develop green and sustainable finance – We will promote the development of Hong Kong as a premier financing platform for governments and green enterprises in the Mainland and around the world. We are also developing Hong Kong into an international carbon market, and will support the HKEX to continue pursuing co-operation with, among others, financial institutions in Guangzhou in carbon market development;