Following is the English translation of the opening remarks by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, at the special meeting of the Legislative Council Finance Committee today (April 14), on the estimates of expenditure for financial services and the key areas of work:
 
Chairman and Honourable Members,
 
     To contribute to the national strategic goal of "accelerating China's development as a financial powerhouse" and align with the 15th Five-Year Plan, we will focus on four major directions, namely "promoting reform", "expanding infrastructure", "enhancing capacity" and "building connectivity".
 
(I) In the area of "promoting reform", we are committed to optimising market rules and regulatory regimes through reform to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
 
     The HKEX (Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited) has already commenced market consultations on various proposals, such as the revision of listing requirements for enterprises with weighted voting right structures, facilitation of secondary listings of overseas issuers and the enhancement of the initial public offering process, and will implement the enhanced structured product listing framework as well as consult the market on the specific implementation proposals for the settlement cycle of T+1 in the first half of this year. In addition, we will reform the trading unit regime and launch the uncertificated securities market regime this year in collaboration with the SFC (Securities and Futures Commission), the HKEX and the industry. The next phase will cover proposals including the enhancement of the continuing obligation regulatory framework and the inclusion of more overseas markets as recognised exchanges.
 
     The SFC and the HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority) are implementing the Roadmap for the Development of Fixed Income and Currency Markets earlier released, facilitating issuance and liquidity, expanding offshore RMB (Renminbi) business and next-generation infrastructure.
 
     The MPFA (Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority) will enhance the process of recovering default contributions from employers, and enhance the flexibility of making MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) investments. The IA (Insurance Authority) will enhance the risk-based capital regime for insurance companies, adjusting risk parameters for the general insurance business and providing capital relief for infrastructure investments.
 
     Besides, we will introduce a bill this year to establish licensing regimes for, among others, digital asset dealing and custodian service providers. We will also set up an accelerator to expedite market innovation, protecting the investors and facilitating the diversification of products and services.
 
(II) As for "expanding infrastructure", we are actively expanding financial infrastructure to lay a solid foundation for long-term development.
 
     The HKMA's CMU OmniClear Holdings Limited (CMU) and the HKEX are currently studying the establishment of a one-stop multi-asset class post-trade securities infrastructure to cover Mainland and Hong Kong equity and debt securities. This will facilitate cross-product and cross-boundary collateral connectivity. The CMU aims to establish a digital asset platform by the end of this year. It will support the issuance and settlement of digital bonds. The Integrated Fund Platform under the HKEX will also expand its services this year, covering fund sales procedures such as payment and settlement, to enhance market efficiency and lower transaction costs.
 
     We are setting up a central clearing system for gold in Hong Kong at full steam, and have signed a co-operation agreement with the Shanghai Gold Exchange in January this year to establish a high-level and collaborative governance structure for the system. The system is scheduled to commence trial operations within this year. We will also be exploring the offering of tax incentives to build an efficient ecosystem for gold.
 
(III) We are also "enhancing capacity" by enhancing market capacity and attractiveness through tax measures and product expansion.
 
     On the internationalisation of the RMB, the Government will issue RMB bonds on a regular basis to improve the yield curve, promoting more convenient foreign exchange quotations and transactions between RMB and regional currencies.
 
     We issued the third batch of tokenised bonds with an issuance size of $10 billion in November last year, with an option to settle via tokenised central bank money. The HKMA will also encourage more digital bond issuances in Hong Kong through the Digital Bond Grant Scheme.
 
     On asset and wealth management, we will enhance the preferential tax regimes for funds and single family offices. We will introduce an amendment bill in the first half of this year, with a view to effecting the implementation from the year of assessment 2025/26.
 
     To promote the REIT (real estate investment trust) market, we will introduce a statutory regime to facilitate REITs to conduct privatisation and restructuring, and will provide a stamp duty waiver for the transfer of non-residential properties into REITs before listing.
 
     To boost Hong Kong's appeal as a two-way platform for "bringing in and going global", we will announce additional tax incentives and a pre-approval mechanism for corporate treasury centres in the middle of this year. At the same time, we will step up our promotional efforts to attract more companies for re-domiciliation.
 
     On international co-operation, we are actively "building connectivity", fully supporting the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to set up an office in Hong Kong. Hong Kong will hold for the first time the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Finance Ministers' Meeting this year and will continue hosting various financial mega events, including the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit and Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival 2026. The Asian Financial Forum will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year, and we will enrich the element of finance empowering businesses, i.e. the "Finance+" put forward in the Budget, at the forum.
 
     Chairman, my colleagues and I will be happy to answer Members' questions. Thank you, Chairman.

Ends/Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:55

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