Hong Kong is well-placed to make use of opportunities in Asia’s growth, Chinese sovereign fund’s global advisors say

China’s former central banker Zhou Xiaochuan called for global efforts to offset geopolitical and economic headwinds
‘Hong Kong, as a global financial hub, can play a bigger role to push the [Belt and Road Initiative] and sustainable development in Asia,’ he said

Banking & finance

Mia Castagnonein Hong KongandFrank Chenin Shanghai

Published: 10:24am, 20 Sep 2023

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Hong Kong is well-placed to capitalise on the opportunities presented by a worldwide restructuring of supply chains and rising geopolitical tension, according to a forum in the city after the inaugural meeting of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund’s global advisors.

Asia will continue to drive global economic growth, and Hong Kong’s unique attributes and edge in “location, governance, efficiency, financial markets and human capital” make the city the “pivotal hub for financial, technological and people-to-people cooperation along the Belt and Road Initiative and in Asia,” said the Chinese central bank’s former governor Zhou Xiaochuan.

Almost two-thirds of China’s inward and outward investments were originated and conducted via Hong Kong’s 200 authorised banks and financial institutions, making the city the world’s top fundraising venue in seven of the past 14 years, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

That stature will only grow in significance, said Zhou, one of 13 advisors on the International Advisory Council (IAC) of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), which held its annual meeting in Hong Kong for the first time this week.

Zhou Xiaochuan, the former Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBC), during a press conference on the sidelines of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on 9 March 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

“The rise of de-globalisation, trade protectionism, and the persistence of decoupling, de-risking and geopolitical conflicts have severely impaired international trade, investment and financial cooperation,” said Zhou, who retired in 2018 after 16 years as the longest-serving governor of the People’s Bank of China.

“The risk of increasing global market fragmentation will need to be contended with in the near future,” and “the more fragmented that the global trade and investment landscape becomes,” the more attractive developing markets will be for investment and fundraising, he said.

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Hong Kong was ready to pounce on the opportunities presented by the fragmented world, said the city’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

“We are committed to make Hong Kong a globally attractive market where investors looking to promote international industrial cooperation can contribute to sustainable development and realise a welcome return on their investment,” Lee said in his opening remarks for the two-day conference.

The IAC was established to provide strategic advice to the Chinese sovereign fund, with US$1.4 trillion in global assets. Other advisors on the IAC include FWD Group Holding’s chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang and the Securities and Futures Commission’s former chairman Andrew Sheng.

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Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, Pakistan’s former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and Goldman Sachs Group’s ex-president John Thornton are also members of the IAC.

The advisors met behind closed doors on the first day. The second day of the conference was an open forum attended by over 700 people at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Kowloon.

“The response was very positive, and all advisory members from overseas witnessed that Hong Kong is back to normal,” said Ma, after speaking at a so-called fireside chat on Tuesday with Hong Kong’s deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun and the HKMA’s chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man.

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The optimism throughout the conference was echoed by Nicolas Aguzin, the chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), which runs the world’s fourth-largest capital market.

“Capital always wants to connect with opportunity,” Aguzin said on the panel with Zhou. “It always has, and it always will.”

“Capital in China wants to connect with global markets, and global opportunities want to connect with China’s capital, and the only [global financial centre] that can make it happen is Hong Kong.”

06:32

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Fundraising through bond sales has soared even as interest in initial public offerings of stocks has dwindled, while asset management and private wealth have ballooned. Hong Kong maintains the world’s deepest liquidity pool for offshore renminbi, helped by last year’s upgrade, which turned the yuan settlement programme into a permanent arrangement with a 60 per cent increase in allocation to 800 billion yuan (US$110 billion).

The world’s economic growth pace may slow to 2.5 per cent in 2024, after slowing to 2.9 per cent this year from the 3.3 per cent in 2022. Weaker growth and sustained inflationary pressure would weigh on the world, creating the incentive for investors to look to Hong Kong’s diverse range of investment products, said Yue.

“Diversification remains an effective first line defense against market uncertainties that we will continue to spread out investments across asset classes, across geographies and also across currencies,” he said.

Additional reporting by Peggy Sito and Amanda Lee