HK is the bridge to opportunities in China

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April 23, 2007 - The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, encouraged U.S. investors at a luncheon in New York today (April 20, New York Time) to make use of Hong Kong as a bridge to business opportunities in China.

Mr Ma was speaking at the luncheon of the Committee of 100’s annual conference during his week-long visit to the U.S. and Canada to promote Hong Kong as an international financial centre and the gateway to China.

Outlining Hong Kong’s strengths in financial services and the emerging economic importance of the Mainland China, Mr Ma told the 400 luncheon guests that as the scale and scope of the Mainland’s international activities continued to increase rapidly,Hong Kong’s role in serving as the Mainland’s channel for financial intermediation with international fund-raisers and investors was also becoming more significant.

“Hong Kong is not only attractive to Mainland enterprises, it also has much to offer to international investors and enterprises in their quest for investment and business opportunities,” Mr Ma said.

“We can act as a platform for accessing opportunities in Asia, in particular, China in a number of ways,” he said.

These include buying Chinese enterprise shares listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange to capitalise on the growth of the Mainland economy; leveraging on Hong Kong’s unique strengths as a fund management centre to tap into the huge domestic savings of the Mainland; and buying Renminbi denominated financial bonds issued in Hong Kong by Mainland financial institutions when available.

At the luncheon, Mr Ma also met and exchanged views with the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Mr Henry Paulson, who was a keynote speaker at the same occasion.

Mr Ma’s programme in New York also included meetings with international financial institutions, a credit rating agency and the media. He will visit Toronto after concluding the New York leg.