Hong Kong to expand government green bond issuance fivefold as Greater Bay Area cities aim to boost sustainable finance

Hong Kong will expand its issuance of government green bonds more than fivefold in the next five years, city’s finance and treasury secretary says

Shenzhen and Guangzhou are also boosting sustainable finance as China faces an annual investment gap of up to US$590 billion for green projects

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Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, speaks via video at the 1st Greater Bay Area Green and Sustainable Finance Summit. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:30pm, 16 Nov 2022Updated: 11:08am, 21 Nov 2022

Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are accelerating their efforts to boost the development of sustainable finance as the cities of the Greater Bay Area vie to help generate capital to help drive China towards its ambitious carbon-reduction goals.

Hong Kong aims to expand the issuance of government green bonds more than five times within the next five years, compared with the amounts before 2021, Christopher Hui Ching-yu, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said on Wednesday via a video speech at the First Greater Bay Area Green and Sustainable Finance Summit, which was held in Shenzhen.

In addition, Hong Kong is launching a three-year programme this year to provide financial professionals with training on green and sustainable finance, with HK$200 million in funds contributing to the effort, he said. The application and registration process started at the end of last month, he added.

The moves underscore the city’s HK$175.5 billion (US$22.5 billion) plan for green bonds over the next five years as Hong Kong strives to become an international green financial centre.

A screen shows a map of Greater Bay Area during a symposium on the development of the area, which links Hong Kong, Macao and nine other cities, in February 2019. Photo: AP

“We encourage people to … use Hong Kong as a platform for green financing,” Hui said. “Looking into the future, the Hong Kong stock exchange will continue to actively expand the ecosystem of carbon trading, including expanding product services, improving the trading mechanism and infrastructure. At the same time, we will explore creating related standards that are applicable to Hong Kong to facilitate the regional transformation into a low-carbon economy and aim to develop Hong Kong into a leading international carbon-trading centre.”

Shenzhen also aims to facilitate innovation to finance environmentally sound projects, and to enhance collaboration with other cities in the region, Yao Ren, deputy secretary general of the Shenzhen government, said at the summit.