Hong Kong’s Role and Opportunities as International Financial Center
Apr 26-2024
On the evening of April 24, 2024, the 6th edition of Central Bank Governors Lecture Series, part of NSD’s Lanrun Policy Talk, was held at Chengze Garden. Mr. Eddie Yue Wei-man, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), delivered a keynote speech entitled Hong Kong’s Role and Future Opportunities as International Financial Center and took questions from faculty members and students. The event was hosted by Prof. Huang Yiping, Dean of NSD, and attended by Prof. Zhang Weiying, NSD Professor of Economics; Prof. Lei Xiaoyan, NSD CCP Secretary; and many other teachers. The event also featured among a series of lectures marking the 30th anniversary of the NSD.
Mr. Eddie Yue Wei-man assumed his current position on October 1, 2019. He joined the Hong Kong government in 1986 and the newly-established HKMA in 1993, where he was promoted to the position of Assistant to Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive in 2001 and 2007 respectively. At HKMA he has been responsible for varied scopes of work. As Deputy Chief Executive, he took charge of reserve management, research affairs, external liaison and market development, and promoted a number of important financial policies and projects. He played an active role in addressing financial crises, and an important one in optimizing the linked exchange rate regime. Mr. Yue graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Harvard Business School.
In his speech, Mr. Yue specifically expounded on the three advantageous conditions that undergird Hong Kong’s position as an international financial hub. The first one is extremely remarkable resilience: Hong Kong’s financial system has been very stable, enjoyed strong confidence of the market, and successfully withstood the impact of all sorts of external crises. A complete financial eco-system is the second pillar. The “One Country, Two Systems” equips Hong Kong with unique advantages unseen in other international financial hubs, as Hong Kong connects with the international market and also bridges the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world. Its high-quality talents pool adds to such advantages. Thirdly, opportunities abound for Hong Kong. As Chinese mainland’s financial sector undergoes reform and opening up, Hong Kong has deepened its interconnection with Chinese mainland’s financial market. In the context of global low-carbon transition, Hong Kong promotes green financial development and has become the largest green bond market in Asia. As RMB continues its international drive, Hong Kong can leverage its favorable conditions to participate in the optimization and development of RMB cross-border settlements.
The speech was followed by a dialogue between Prof. Huang Yiping and Mr. Yue. They had candid and profound discussions on issues such as the determining factors for the resilience of Hong Kong’s financial market, geopolitics’ impact on Hong Kong’s financial market, and Hong Kong’s bridging role for the Chinese mainland and the international financial market.
The event was wrapped up with Mr. Yue answering questions from Prof. Zhang Weiying and other participants on RMB internationalization, the development of the Greater Bay Area and some other issues.
