Officials of the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region vowed on Monday to beef up the SAR’s competitiveness as a global asset and wealth management center.    

In his opening remarks at the 18th annual Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the HKSAR government has exempted the stamp duty on transfers of shares and units of real-estate investment trusts, and has boosted the profits tax exemption regimes for funds and single family offices.

“We are also expanding our mutual access programs with the mainland’s financial markets, such as enhancing southbound trading under the Bond Connect that would allow greater participation by mainland non-bank financial institutions like securities firms and insurance companies,” he said.

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Hong Kong managed about $4 trillion worth of assets in 2023, with net fund inflows up well over three times. The city is also home to 2,700 single family offices, with more than half of them having been set up by ultra-high-net-worth-individuals, each with a net worth of at least $50 million.

Lee said Hong Kong will continue to explore new growth areas by creating a working group to develop a full value chain relating to international gold trading, such as gold storage facilities, testing and certification and logistics. The SAR administration will work closely with financial regulators to provide a clear supervisory framework and create a conducive and sustainable market environment for responsible application of artificial intelligence in financial markets.

The chief executive also pledged to expand overseas networks, especially in countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

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“Our strategy includes strengthening financial cooperation with the Middle East and the 10 member states of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), as well as other established and emerging markets,” he said.

The SAR government has introduced a bill in the Legislative Council proposing to set up a company re-domiciliation regime that will offer a straightforward route for non-Hong Kong incorporated companies to transfer their domicile to the city, while ensuring business continuity.

Zhou Ji, executive deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said the central government, as always, will make every effort to support Hong Kong in consolidating its status as a world financial, trading and shipping center, and help the city accelerate its pace of scientific and technological innovation.

Liu Zhenmin, the nation’s special envoy on climate change, said Hong Kong can leverage its advantages to empower Asia’s energy transformation through climate finance, and make greater contributions to the continent’s energy transformation.

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“Hong Kong can promote climate financing by guiding the flow of climate funds, expanding climate finance cooperation with the mainland and Asian countries, and innovating climate financing tools,” he said. Hong Kong can further make full use of its mature insurance market to develop climate insurance products to mitigate the risks of investment projects, he added.

In 2023, the value of green and sustainable bonds arranged in the SAR reached $30 billion, topping the Asian market and accounting for 37 percent of the region’s total. The city had issued about 230 ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds as of September last year, with assets under management exceeding $175 billion -- up more than 50 percent from three years ago.

This year’s two-day forum, themed “Powering the Next Growth Engine”, has attracted some 3,600 business and financial leaders from more than 50 countries and regions.