Hong Kong to roll out measures boosting offshore yuan trading in July: finance chief

As Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule on July 1, the South China Morning Post talks to the city’s senior officials about the administration’s achievements so far and what may lie ahead. 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. “This is not a sign of weakness, but it is a reflection of our importance as the major gateway and the most important platform for mainland companies going global,” he said. 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. Commenting on mainland and Hong Kong investors being barred from taking part in the biggest IPO in history, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which started trading on the Nasdaq exchange on June 12, Chan said the exclusion would not undermine the city’s financial hub status. Acknowledging the IPO was influenced by geopolitical factors, Chan said the move was against the company’s interest, while the secondary market in Hong Kong and on the mainland still had a lot to offer. “[There] are plenty of opportunities to invest in hard tech, in health science, in [the] industry of the future. So for us, we encourage people to explore different opportunities,” he said. 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. Reviewing the past four years, Chan said Hong Kong was a safe haven for investors amid volatile geopolitical tensions, with about 3,380 single-family offices by the end of last year – a 25 per cent increase from 2023. 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”. The figure reached HK$35 trillion in 2024, with over half coming from outside Hong Kong and mainland China. 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. Asked about whether he would stay on for another term after the administration’s current one ended next June, the finance chief sidestepped the question. “I will keep up the hard work and get this job done well,” he said.

Hong Kong to roll out measures boosting offshore yuan trading in July: finance chief

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Government wants more listed firms trading stocks in renminbi and will use city’s hub status to help mainland Chinese firms expand overseas

Government wants more listed firms trading stocks in renminbi and will use city’s hub status to help mainland Chinese firms expand overseas