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Finance

Financial stability equals economic viability
– BPA Seminar with Norman Chan, Chief Executive, HKMA

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Hong Kong’s standing as an international financial centre did not come about easily and, as such, should not be allowed to fritter away easily. At a gathering with members at the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong’s (BPA) headquarters today (September 17), Mr Norman Chan Tak-lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), shared his thoughts on the evolution of and challenges to Hong Kong’s financial system.

Questions – Business conditions of small and medium brokers (Christopher Cheung)

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According to the Financial Review of the Securities Industry for the year ended 2013 (the Review) published by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Category C brokers (i.e. brokers ranked 66th or after by monthly turnover on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong) recorded a total net profit of $1.758 billion last year, which was 3.95 times higher than that of 2012.

BPA’s Response to the 2014 Policy Address

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In his concluding remark for of the Policy Address, the Chief Executive stressed that it was “imperative to pursue people’s livelihood and the economy in tandem”. This is a belief that is, to a large extent, shared by the BPA. It is however disappointing to note that the reference to economic development is not sufficiently reflected in the contents of the Policy Address, namely, the strategies for economic development are fragmented and piecemeal while the needs of the middle class and SMEs, who are the major contributors to Hong Kong’s economy, have been overlooked.

Question – Hong Kong’s competitiveness (Abraham Shek)

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According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 of the World Economic Forum (the Report), Hong Kong’s position in the overall rankings of the Global Competitiveness Index among 148 countries/economies has advanced by two places to the seventh this year. Despite the advancement in overall ranking, Hong Kong ranked significantly low in several areas (e.g. Hong Kong’s enrollments for primary and secondary education remained at low rankings of 89th and 93rd respectively). The report recommended that Hong Kong needed to improve on higher education (ranked 22nd) and innovation (ranked 23rd)…

Question – Development of Hong Kong as an international asset management centre (Christopher Cheung)

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The Financial Secretary mentioned in the Budget of this year that to strengthen its position as a premier international asset management centre, Hong Kong would provide relevant legal and regulatory frameworks, and a clear and competitive tax environment with a view to attracting more funds of various types to base in Hong Kong.