Hong Kong must brace for geopolitical ‘worst-case scenario’, finance chief warns, with over 150 Chinese firms at risk of US delisting
- More than 150 Chinese companies are now on a provisional line-up of firms to be removed from American exchanges under a 2020 law
- Paul Chan says certain geopolitical factors are difficult to predict but Hong Kong has to make full preparations for the worst-case scenario
Hong Kong has to make full preparations for a worst-case scenario for geopolitical tensions ahead, with Chinese companies at risk of being delisted from US stock exchanges, the city’s finance chief has warned.
Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, was on Friday added to the watch list of US-listed Chinese firms facing removal.
Asked whether Hong Kong could help Chinese firms facing such risks, Chan said the United States and China were discussing auditing procedures of US-listed mainland enterprises but the city was not involved in the talks.
“But we can see … the mainland is eager to reach an agreement. But on the other hand, it’s unknown whether an agreement can be reached. This is an uncertainty,” he told a seminar on the city’s future development as an international financial centre organised by Hong Kong News-Expo, a media museum.
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Chan said certain geopolitical factors, such as a US-China conflict over Taiwan, were difficult to predict, but the city had to make full preparations for the worst-case scenario.
“For future development, apart from politics, many economic interests are also involved, which is quite complicated. Hong Kong is such a small economy... we have to rely on the [mainland], because our economic growth … is mainly driven by it,” he said.