In this file photo dated Aug 30, 2022, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu gives an interview with China Daily. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

To maximize Hong Kong’s role as a bridge between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world, the city’s financial industry should seize the opportunities emerging from its deepening integration into national development, and expand into Middle East and Southeast Asian markets.

Christopher Hui Ching-yu, secretary for financial services and the Treasury, made the remarks while leading a delegation of key figures of Hong Kong’s mainland-funded banking industry in a three-day visit last week to mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The program allows eligible residents from Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao to invest in wealth management products distributed by banks in each other’s markets through a closed-loop funds flow channel 

Hui said the visit yielded fruitful results, as discussions were held on how to implement favorable policies, make joint efforts in the financial sector, and foster high-quality development of the Great Bay Area.

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About 60 delegates visited Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan, during which they conducted in-depth exchanges with local officials and financial regulators on topics that included cross-border financial cooperation and integrated development of the Greater Bay Area.

This was the first large-scale visit organized by the Chinese Banking Association of Hong Kong since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Raymond Chan King-wang, executive director (banking supervision) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said during the visit that because Hong Kong enjoys the advantages of an international financial center, the city should consolidate its position as a hub for offshore renminbi businesses, and contribute to the orderly advancement of renminbi internationalization.

Chan said that the HKMA is accelerating work on the Multi-CBDC Bridge project (mBridge). The project — co-launched in early 2021 by the HKMA, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, the Bank of Thailand, and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates — aims to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments through Central Bank Digital Currency.

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Also, the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect program, launched in September 2021, is expected to see new developments soon, he added. The program allows eligible residents from Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao to invest in wealth management products distributed by banks in each other’s markets through a closed-loop funds flow channel established among their respective banking systems.