Financial services to get a boost

2019-03-01 09:37:45

The Government has set out a clear vision and blueprint to boost the development of Hong Kong?s financial services industry, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said.

Delivering the 2019-20 Budget, Mr Chan said to cope with increasing competition, Hong Kong has to enhance the resilience of the financial system, improve the regulatory regime and increase investor protection.

To improve the quality of listed companies, legislation was enacted in January to expand the remit of the Financial Reporting Council, bolster the independence of the regime for auditors of listed entities and strengthen investor protection.

The Government will raise the amount of seed capital for the council to $400 million to help it migrate to the new regime, and exempt the levy under the new regime for the first two years, Mr Chan added.

Green finance

He also noted the Government rolled out the Green Bond Grant Scheme last year to attract organisations to arrange financing for their green projects through the city?s capital markets and encourage them to make use of Hong Kong?s green finance certification services.

Many local, Mainland and international organisations, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, have chosen to issue green bonds in the city.

Green bonds issued in Hong Kong last year amounted to about US$11 billion, more than triple that of 2017.

Mr Chan said Hong Kong is also gearing up for the inaugural issuance of government green bonds.

Financial technologies

To offer the public greater convenience in paying taxes, rates and water charges, Mr Chan said the Government is planning to use the Monetary Authority?s Faster Payment System which has received overwhelming response.

The Transport Department, Immigration Department and Leisure & Cultural Services Department will explore the feasibility of accepting payments through this system at their shroff counters on a pilot basis.

The finance chief noted the Monetary Authority will shortly issue virtual banking licences, while banks will implement the Open Application Programming Interface functions in phases to bring more innovative banking services to the public.

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