Hong Kong to roll out measures boosting offshore yuan trading in July: finance chief Authorities are expected to roll out measures to strengthen Hong Kong’s role as an offshore Chinese yuan hub next month, the finance chief has revealed, with the government pushing to increase the number of listed firms trading stocks in renminbi. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also defended the city’s international financial centre status amid criticism of a heavy reliance on mainland Chinese initial public offerings (IPO), saying it was a strength rather than a weakness that the city served as a gateway for such overseas expansion. Chan highlighted the need to enrich yuan investment products, noting there was “room” for increasing the city’s offshore yuan liquidity pool despite it being the world’s largest, with deposits of about 1 trillion yuan (US$145 billion). He cited the Hong Kong dollar-yuan dual-counter model as an example, which allows investors to trade the shares of a city-listed company in either local dollars or renminbi. “We are working on the possibility of expanding it, but of course this is subject to discussion with the relevant authorities on the mainland,” he said. “But it is always our target to expand the product offering, to expand that counter.” Currently, only 23 firms have yuan-share counters, including Tencent Holdings, AIA Group, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Alibaba Group Holding, which owns the SCMP. It is understood that authorities hope to further increase the number of listed firms to give more stock trading options to investors holding offshore yuan. Chan said the new measures boosting Hong Kong’s offshore yuan business would be announced next month, but he did not share further details. The new moves are expected to align with national priorities of strengthening Hong Kong’s role as an offshore renminbi hub and an international financial centre. With the support of the People’s Bank of China, the supply of short-term yuan liquidity for the city’s lenders currently stands at 800 billion yuan, helping banks to secure stable renminbi funding for trade finance, global yuan loans and other capital investments. Reviewing the city’s economic milestones over the past four years, Chan highlighted Hong Kong’s performance as an international financial centre and status as the world’s top place for IPO fundraising with more than HK$280 billion (US$35.72 billion) raised in 2025, among other achievements. Hong Kong retained the pole position in the first quarter of this year by raising HK$110.4 billion, with notable capital raises by three mainland companies. While mainland IPOs fuelled the city’s standing, Chan said it showed how Hong Kong helped companies from over the border to raise funds for their overseas expansion. Chan stressed that Hong Kong could offer mainland companies a “very strong business case”, as its financial and professional sectors provided capital and services, such as overseas legal compliance. Chan added that the city’s stock market remained appealing to investors and attracting quality enterprises to list on the market was key. “Of course, mainland firms are important, but so are some companies from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and markets we are less familiar with, such as Central Asia, especially when they have rich mineral resources,” he said. “If you can attract good companies to list here, you will naturally attract investors.” According to Chan, local authorities were also working to enhance liquidity and improve the financial infrastructure of the local stock market, such as shortening the stock settlement cycle and building a platform with one-stop access to equity and debt securities. Hong Kong also overtook Switzerland as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub last year, with assets of US$2.95 trillion, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group. Chan hinted that the city’s 2025 total assets under management, to be announced next month, would mark a “very decent increase”. Chan said the government aspired to boost its cross-border wealth management business and was eyeing the European market, which was looking to diversify investments to minimise geopolitical risk. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3357804/hong-kong-roll-out-measures-boosting-offshore-yuan-trading-july-finance-chief?pgtype=live (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post