Hong Kong capital market can help turn mainland tech firms into ‘global leaders’ Hong Kong should step up efforts to support the country’s tech enterprises by using its capital market, helping such businesses secure more funding and become “global leaders”, a Beijing official has said. Qi Bin, a deputy director at Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong, also said on Tuesday that fostering a strong capital market in the city to bolster the nation’s technological advances was the “obvious choice”. The former vice-president of the China Investment Corporation added that such a move would also benefit Hong Kong. Qi’s remarks echoed Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang’s call earlier this month for the city to use its resources to support the country’s technological development. “The recent positive momentum of Hong Kong’s economic and social development shows that the key to Hong Kong’s economic growth is financial market development,” Qi told attendees on the first day of a summit hosted by HSBC. “Fostering a strong capital market in Hong Kong is also an obvious choice for growing China’s technological innovation and industrial upgrades, while enabling both the Hong Kong and A-share stock markets to grow into world-class capital markets together.” A-share equities are yuan-denominated stocks that are traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen. He cited a nearly 30 per cent rise in the Hang Seng Tech Index since the start of 2025 as a sign that local technology stocks were viewed as a reflection of the nation’s new generation of tech enterprises, which were undergoing valuation reviews and readjustments. Qi also proposed several measures, including accelerating the integration of Hong Kong’s capital market with the national’s hi-tech enterprises, such as innovative companies in the Greater Bay Area and other parts of the country. “Hong Kong’s capital market could speed up its inclusion of tech enterprises, helping them to raise capital and grow to be potentially global leaders,” he said. He added that many of the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics companies needed capital to support the recruitment of talent and the development of their business. The Beijing official also pledged support for the local administration’s plan to release a capital market development blueprint to provide stakeholders with mid and long-term expectations. But he urged the city government to strengthen its supervision of the capital market and introduce long-term funds to prevent excessive volatility. Earlier this month, Vice-Premier Ding told Hong Kong delegates at the country’s largest annual political gathering, known as the “two sessions”, that he hoped the city’s financial capital would support cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China regarding technological advancement. The delegates cited Ding, the head of the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs, a body of the Communist Part’s Central Committee, as saying the city should invest in the country’s innovation and technology sector in its early stages. The vice-premier said such investments could involve just a small amount of capital and should focus on long-term “hard technologies”, such as AI and new energy. Speaking at the same event as Qi, Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki highlighted the city’s economic forecast of 2.9 per cent annually from 2026 to 2029, and noted the stock market’s recent daily market turnover had reached US$26 billion at the end of February. “These figures are a testament to the trust that global investors place in our financial infrastructure, regulatory framework, and long-standing connectivity with mainland China and the world in general,” the city’s No 2 official said. Chan also discussed plans to hist the inaugural Hong Kong Global Financial and Industry Summit in June, saying the event would support the matching of capital and projects by bringing together the global enterprises, tech companies, funds and investors to drive international collaborations through financial empowerment. HSBC’s three-day summit, titled “New Networks Connecting the Global Economy”, had recorded 4,300 registrations, according to the company. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3303775/hong-kong-capital-market-can-help-turn-mainland-tech-firms-global-leaders (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post