No interest: Hong Kong Legco financial affairs meeting cancelled as only five of 20 members show up

Hong Kong’s top financial services officials were told they did not need to brief lawmakers as scheduled yesterday, as their meeting at the legislature was called off due to a lack of quorum.

The Legislative Council’s financial affairs panel meeting at 9am had been regarded as one of the panel’s most important meetings of the year.

The panel monitors and examines government policies and issues of public concern relating to financial and finance matters. Yesterday’s meeting was set to discuss financial affairs initiatives noted last month in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s policy address.

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Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Professor Chan Ka-keung was to elaborate on policy initiatives, while Monetary Authority chief executive Norman Chan Tak-lam was due to explain the watchdog’s work.

Securities and Futures Commission chairman Carlson Tong Ka-shing had also planned to speak about the commission’s budget during the meeting.

But panel chairman Ng Leung-sing called off the meeting at about 9.15am as only five lawmakers were present, one short of a quorum.

“I am surprised, because Hong Kong is an international financial centre,” Ng said. “Yet lawmakers cannot make arrangements to attend the meeting, and it had to be called off.”