The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday (July 21) to continue his visit. He met with the Deputy Minister of Finance of Malaysia, the Deputy Governor of the Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia), as well as representatives from the Malaysian finance, banking and gold industries, and family offices to promote the advantages of Hong Kong's financial and gold market sectors and relevant new initiatives.

     Upon his arrival in Kuala Lumpur yesterday afternoon, Mr Hui met with the Deputy Minister of Finance of Malaysia, Mr Liew Chin Tong. They exchanged views on room for further financial co-operation on various fronts ranging from capital formation, Islamic finance to Renminbi (RMB) business and the gold market. Mr Hui highlighted in particular the new measures Hong Kong recently launched to boost the offshore RMB business, such as further enhancing and expanding the Southbound Bond Connect, increasing the size of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's RMB Business Facility and promoting the development of a bilateral currency transaction framework between the Indonesian Rupiah and offshore RMB. Also attending were representatives of the Securities Commission Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia Berhad.

     Mr Hui then met with the President of the Fintech Association of Malaysia, Mr Anil Singh Gill, to update him on key initiatives related to fintech developments. Mr Hui highlighted that Hong Kong is an ideal destination for the development of fintech with the city's robust regulatory environment and rich business opportunities. He is glad to know that members of the Association will be visiting Hong Kong in November to join the flagship event, Hong Kong FinTech Week, to connect with attendees coming from around the world for scaling their business across Asia and beyond through Hong Kong.

     Later in the night, Mr Hui had a dinner meeting with the Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia, Mr Sun Shuqiang, to introduce to him the various new initiatives being implemented in Hong Kong, especially those addressing the National 15th Five-Year Plan in establishing a commodity trading ecosystem and strengthening Hong Kong's functions as a global offshore RMB business hub. 

     Today (July 22), Mr Hui began the day with a breakfast meeting with the Chief Executive Officer and Regional Head of Investment Bank, Group Wholesale Banking of the CIMB, Ms Nor Masliza Sulaiman, and the Regional Head of Financial Institutions Group, Group Wholesale Banking of the CIMB, Ms Sylvia Wong, to exchange views on the outlook of the capital market and the gold market as well as Islamic finance.

     He then met with the Deputy Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Mr Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid. Highlighting the diversified capital market and the well-capitalised banking sector in Hong Kong, Mr Hui said Hong Kong is a reliable partner for Bank Negara Malaysia to explore further co-operation in areas such as the gold market, tokenisation, RMB business and Sukuk (Islamic bonds).

     Attracting more Malaysian enterprises to set up family offices in Hong Kong is another objective of this duty visit. Mr Hui had a lunch meeting with several family offices and related private investment firms, namely Sunway Group, Berjaya Group, Royal Selangor International and RHL Ventures. He told them about the flourishing family office sector in Hong Kong which recorded a growth of over 25 per cent of single family offices over the past two years, and that Hong Kong is predicted by the market to have an annual average growth of 9 per cent for cross-boundary wealth managed from 2025 to 2030. To provide family offices with a more attractive business environment, Hong Kong is introducing legislative proposals to enhance preferential tax regimes to cover more qualifying investments such as private credit investments and precious metals.

     Mr Hui joined the Global Family Office New Era Summit organised by the Hong Kong Fiduciary Association in Kuala Lumpur afterwards. In his keynote speech, he assured the attendees that Hong Kong is their anchor in an unpredictable world with its absolute certainty in rules, unwavering predictability in its fiscal framework and its permanent, long-term commitment to remain as a premier global family office hub.

     "The statistics coming out of Hong Kong are not only impressive on paper. They are a powerful, undeniable market signal that ultra-high-net-worth families are making definitive moves to enter Hong Kong, to stay in Hong Kong, and to build their multigenerational legacies in Hong Kong. Just earlier this month, our securities regulator released an annual survey showing Hong Kong's assets under management in 2025 jumped 20 per cent year-on-year to a record high of US$5.4 trillion. Net fund inflow coming into Hong Kong almost tripled year-on-year to US$265 billion," he elaborated.

     He encouraged the attendees to take Hong Kong as their external gateway in deploying private capital to a world of investment opportunities. By setting up a family office in Hong Kong, they can unlock unrivalled structural synergies with Hong Kong's advantages in being the world's top offshore RMB business hub as well as the recent launch of the central clearing and settlement system for gold, governed by the wholly government-owned Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company Limited, together with the initial phase of Delivery Connect in collaboration with the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

     Later in the afternoon, Mr Hui had a meeting with the President of the Federation of Goldsmiths and Jewellers Association of Malaysia (FGJAM), Mr Pang Ann Puo. Having 18 member associations spanning every Malaysian state, the FGJAM is the main representative body for Malaysia's gold and jewellery industry covering stakeholders including refiners, bullion houses, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and traditional goldsmiths.

     Mr Hui told Mr Pang that Hong Kong is striving to build a scalable and integrated platform with trusted capabilities in clearing, connectivity, price discovery, risk management, storage, and insurance for global participants. Key market participants have shown their support to Hong Kong's central gold clearing and settlement system which is on a trial operation. Trading volume of the US dollar gold futures contract continue to reach record highs, and substantial deposits of gold into a designated vault have been arranged. The Malaysian gold industry may leverage Hong Kong's new initiative to explore opportunities for co-operation.

     The day ended with a dinner meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of UOB Malaysia, Ms Ng Wei Wei. UOB Malaysia offers both conventional and Islamic banking services to its customers across the nation through its extensive branches. Mr Hui updated her on the thriving environment of Hong Kong's banking sector as well as the Government's comprehensive suite of initiatives to promote green finance.

     Mr Hui will continue his visit to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (July 23) and attend a signing ceremony of Memoranda of Understanding.

Ends/Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:50

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