Hong Kong’s strengths lie in bridging East, West amid trade war: finance chief

Hong Kong’s finance minister has dismissed concerns that foreigners are avoiding the city because of its strong connections to the mainland Chinese market amid the trade war, saying that investors are showing their confidence with their capital.

At the “Summer Davos” forum on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said Hong Kong’s strengths lay in giving investors priority access to the mainland market while helping businesses across the border to go global and diversify their supply chains to Southeast Asia.

When asked if the city’s close ties to the mainland, amid the US-China trade war, could deter investors, Chan pointed out that capital from the United States and Europe mostly contributed to the Hong Kong stock market, which has grown by 15 per cent so far this year.

“Investors do use their capital to cast a vote as to the confidence in our part of the world,” he said.

Chan was speaking at a panel discussion titled “Is Asia’s Century at Risk?” at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, northern China.

He was joined by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunneththi, and Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo, a deputy chair of the Great Indonesia Movement Party.