Speech at Policy briefing-cum-meeting of Panel on Financial Affairs

III Briefing by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury on the Chief Executive’s 2022 Policy Address

Mutual access between the Mainland and Hong Kong financial markets

Mr. Chan Chun-ying was of the view that the size of business operations of the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect (“WMC”) in the Greater Bay Area still being far below the initial quota after more than a year of operation might be attributable to, among others, immigration clearance restrictions between Hong Kong and the Mainland that had hindered potential customers from opening accounts, the limited choice and poor expected returns of financial products, as well as the lack of offline avenues for disseminating product information. They enquired whether the Administration would explore with the Mainland regulatory authorities as early as possible enhancement measures for addressing the above situation.

As regards WMC, the Administration pointed out that it had been listening to the views of market participants on the three aspects of product content, participating channels and target participants, and had been holding regular discussions with the Mainland regulators.

Financial technology

Mr. Chan Chun-ying noted that there were currently 10 data providers participating in the Commercial Data Interchange (“CDI”) launched by HKMA, which allowed banks to obtain trade and commercial data of enterprises upon their consent. Members enquired about the number of government departments currently providing data sources for CDI, and whether the scope of data covered by CDI was adequate for banks to conduct comprehensive credit analysis of the enterprises. He also enquired how the Administration would assist I&T enterprises in meeting their fundraising needs prior to or during the initial stage of listing.

The Administration responded that the data of CDI had already included those on the Register of the Companies Registry. HKMA would continue to test and increase the data of CDI to meet the practical needs of banks in using such platform for credit analysis, thereby enabling banks to make accurate assessments on the operating condition of enterprises and providing SMEs with a better chance of securing loans. In addition, the Government had set up a number of funds such as the Strategic Tech Fund and the GBA Investment Fund to cater for the financing needs of enterprises at different development stages on the one hand, and to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as a financial, commercial and I&T centre through making strategic investments in projects with a Hong Kong nexus on the other, with a view to raising Hong Kong’s productivity and competitiveness in the long run.