bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Jess Ma

The finance chief has met British economic and central bank officials during his London visit, where he also sought to defend the local business environment by saying Hong Kong “will never be just another Chinese city”.
The office of Paul Chan Mo-po revealed on Friday that he had met economic secretary Tulip Siddiq and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey the day before, confirming a report by the Post.
Both parties exchanged views on the global economy and financial development, the office said.
Chan is seeking to deepen trade ties in his second post-pandemic trip to London, after visiting Madrid for four days with a delegation of technology industry leaders.
He made the first visit in September last year as part of a trip to Europe. The only disclosed meeting involving Chan and UK officials at the time was one with Bailey.
Chan’s visit this month is also his first opportunity to meet the United Kingdom’s newly elected Labour Party government, which ended the Conservative Party’s 14-year run in a landslide election win in July.
After meeting the UK officials, the finance minister also explained recent developments in Hong Kong, saying the city was “changing for the better” and the government would continue to boost its “superconnector” role and attract strategic enterprises.
“Hong Kong is not, and never will be, ‘just another Chinese city’. What is changing is changing for the better,” Chan said at an annual dinner hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in London.
“The sound and robust fundamentals of Hong Kong are here to stay.”
The minister, who is set to return to Hong Kong on Sunday, told the audience that initial public offerings had picked up again, with more than 100 companies in the pipeline to list locally.
Chan added that Beijing had also called for Hong Kong to maintain its status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre in the recent third plenary session.
He said the policy direction required Hong Kong to “remain a trusted hub for international investors and businesses” while also upholding key features of the “one country, two systems” governing principle.

Bank deposits in Hong Kong rose by 4 per cent to about HK$16.8 trillion (US$2.2 trillion) in the first seven months of this year, according to official statistics.
Chan said the figures showed that investors continued to have confidence in the city, hailing the news that Hong Kong had returned to third place in the latest Global Financial Centres Index announced earlier this week.
He said the city’s “key features” that remained firmly in place included the common law system, the independent judiciary, the low tax system, and the free flow of capital, goods, information and talent.
He pointed to Hong Kong’s currency peg to the US dollar as another advantage.
Chan defended the independence of the judiciary after the abrupt departure of three overseas non-permanent justices in a single week earlier this year.
One of the departing trio, British judge Jonathan Sumption, at the time claimed that the city’s rule of law was “profoundly compromised”.
Chan said: “While two UK judges from our Court of Final Appeal recently resigned, seven esteemed overseas judges have stayed on, including three from the UK.”
The finance minister said authorities were firmly committed to the rule of law and gave the example of a non-permanent judge on the city’s top bench, Australian Patrick Keane, who told a news outlet from his home country that he saw no evidence the city government was pressuring the judiciary.
Chan introduced the latest innovation and technology developments, saying that doing business in the city was “not a taxing situation” and multinational biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies were setting up in the city to access the mainland Chinese market.
He also met Chinese ambassador to Britain Zheng Zeguang to exchange views on fostering greater trade ties between Hong Kong and the UK.
Lawmaker Wendy Hong Wen said the visit was a positive indication for the local business sector, demonstrating the government’s willingness to collaborate with Western countries on business matters amid geopolitics tensions.
She added that Western countries still played an important role in Hong Kong business.
“Hong Kong could still serve as a bridge to connect mainland China and Western countries,” she said.


Hong Kong can woo South American companies with sourcing expertise, tech support: experts

About 90% of Hongkongers in favour of prioritising local renewable energy, survey finds

Mainland China tech giant Baidu applies to launch autonomous vehicle trials in Hong Kong

University in Hong Kong recruits 100 overseas, mainland Chinese academics in 2-year drive

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong will never be ‘just another Chinese city’, finance chief says after meeting top UK officials

Finance chief Paul Chan (left) meets Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to discuss the global economy and financial development. Photo: SCMP

Finance chief Paul Chan (left) and Chinese ambassador to Britain Zheng Zeguang exchanged views on fostering greater trade ties between Hong Kong and Britain. Photo: SCMP

Hong Kong’s Paul Chan goes on tech charm offensive to deepen ties with UK, Spain

Ties between Hong Kong and London have cooled amid geopolitical tensions between China and the UK. Photo: Bloomberg

Paul Chan addresses the 27th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium. Photo: Handout

Paul Chan vows to champion Hong Kong market, diversify funding sources after US rate cut

Hong Kong’s stock market has rebounded to its highest level in more than two months. Photo: Bloomberg

Financial Secretary Paul Chan is set to visit the UK alongside a tech delegation later this week. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong’s Paul Chan pushes for global tech start-up summit to be hosted in city

Hong Kong hopes to attract more high-level events to help it become a global tech hub. Photo: Eugene Lee

Financial Secretary Paul Chan (centre) is visiting Spain as part of a tour to bolster ties with trade partners in Europe. Photo: Handout

News

Hong Kong

Politics

Paul Chan also seeks to defend local business environment by saying Hong Kong ‘will never be just another Chinese city’


Paul Chan also seeks to defend local business environment by saying Hong Kong ‘will never be just another Chinese city’.


Paul Chan

Hong Kong politics

Britain