Hong Kong minister hits out at claims that city’s days as global financial hub are over

Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui Ching-yu, has refuted claims that the city's status as a leading global financial centre is over. He was responding to a wave of negative comments on mainland Chinese social media, including comparisons of the building that houses the stock exchange to an ancient relic.

Hui argued that Hong Kong's status is not a tall building or a monument that can be easily toppled. He acknowledged that macroeconomic factors such as the uncertain global economic outlook, unstable geopolitical conditions, and the extended interest rate environment have inevitably impacted Hong Kong's financial market, particularly share trading and the short-term performances of IPOs. However, he asserted in his blog post that Hong Kong's financial market has a solid foundation and is internationalised, comprehensive, and growing.

Over the past two months, internet users in mainland China have criticised Hong Kong's status as a financial hub. They compared Central's Exchange Square, which houses the city's stock exchange, to historical tourist attractions such as the site of the Terracotta Army in Shaanxi. This criticism followed the publication of market data by financial information provider Refinitiv, which showed that proceeds generated from IPOs in Hong Kong had hit a 20-year low. It ranked the stock market ninth globally for the first half of 2023, one spot higher than last year but behind the third place it held on the 2022 list.