Tan Yueheng, chairman of Bocom International, stakes Hong Kong's future on its long-cherished advantages. Hong Kong should boost its role in the Belt and Road Initiative by offering project investment and financing platforms to strengthen its financial competitiveness, said Tan during his interview with China Daily on March 8, 2023. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong should boost its role in the Belt and Road Initiative by offering project investment and financing platforms to strengthen its financial competitiveness, said Tan Yueheng, a new Hong Kong member on the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the nation’s top political advisory body.

Tan, who is also a Hong Kong lawmaker and the chairman of BOCOM International Holdings, made the remarks in an interview with China Daily on Wednesday.

The Belt and Road Initiative presents as a critical gateway for Hong Kong to give full play to its advantages in connecting the world.

Tan Yueheng,

HK member on the National Committee of the CPPCC

“The Belt and Road Initiative presents as a critical gateway for Hong Kong to give full play to its advantages in connecting the world,” Tan said, adding that the financial hub could set up a “BRI international board” for stock and bond trading to expand investment and financing channels for projects involved.

Over the past decade, Hong Kong’s capital markets have derived great vitality from the Connect programs, such as Stock Connect and Bond Connect which allow cross-border funds to invest in equities and bonds between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, Tan said.

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“Today, the financial opportunities in the Belt and Road Initiative could become the next driver that further unleashes Hong Kong’s growth momentum given the its scale and prospects,” he added.

Since President Xi Jinping proposed the BRI in 2013, the initiative has attracted the participation of over three-fourths of countries in the world and 32 international organizations, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said at a news conference on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress on Tuesday.

According to Qin, the BRI has brought nearly $1 trillion of investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created some 420,000 jobs for countries involved in the initiative and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

While making full use of traditional financing platforms, State-level funds and newly funded Hong Kong investment management firms could lead the charge in the establishment of industrial funds featuring Belt and Road alternative investments, Tan added.

Tan’s proposal came after widespread concerns over Hong Kong’s status as a global financial center, spearheaded by the Global Financial Centers Index published last September, in which Hong Kong slid one place to fourth.

Acknowledging Hong Kong’s financial prowess had been compromised over the past three years, Tan said the city’s bedrock that determines its status as an international financial hub has not been shaken.

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“As a matter of fact, talents, capital and enterprises are gradually returning to Hong Kong as the pandemic eases,” Tan said. “Hong Kong still boasts its unique advantages such as infrastructure, financial resources, and its proximity to the Chinese mainland.”

Tan cited his three roles as a national political adviser, Hong Kong lawmaker and banking executive, saying these identities complement each another.

“Being a CPPCC National Committee member requires thinking from a national level,” Tan said. “Then when I go back to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, I can bring in this national thinking and combine it well with local policymaking. In a big way, this will be more conducive to integrating Hong Kong into the country’s overall development.”

The next step, according to Tan, is to pass national policies and financial reforms on to Hong Kong’s financial community to help the city seize opportunities in emerging trends like integration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the development of financial technology and green finance.