Hong Kong’s focus on South Korean business collaboration spurred by geopolitics

Hong Kong’s finance chief has launched a strategic offensive to forge closer business ties with South Korea, with investors showing interest in the city’s latest cryptocurrency policy and its role as a “superconnector” to international markets amid geopolitical tensions.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who concluded a three-day visit to Seoul on Thursday, proposed a direct cross-listing of exchange-traded funds and highlighted Hong Kong’s use of an exclusive derivative financial product as a new tool to secure Korean capital, according to his weekly blog.

Chan cited data that showed a sharp uptick in Korean capital inflows. Securities trading by Korean licensed firms in Hong Kong soared to more than HK$1.5 trillion in the first five months of the year, or 2.8 times the total for the whole of 2024, he said on Sunday.

“Overall, in recent years, due to the impact of the pandemic and geopolitical factors, they have come to Hong Kong less frequently, which has resulted in certain discrepancies in their understanding of the situation in Hong Kong,” Chan wrote.

He addressed concerns about regional geopolitics by positioning Hong Kong as a stable bridge for Korean enterprises to access opportunities within the Greater Bay Area, leveraging the city’s world-class research capabilities and deep financial markets.

The bay area is Beijing’s scheme to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in neighbouring Guangdong province into an economic and business powerhouse.