Hong Kong finance chief says city shifting from quantity to value in finance and trade
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the city is moving from accumulating quantity to enhancing value in finance and trade. He noted that offshore yuan bonds now account for 38% of Hong Kong-listed bonds, surpassing US dollar bonds for the first time. Chan also highlighted opportunities in
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the city's financial and trade sectors are shifting from accumulating quantity to enhancing value, as global fragmentation creates opportunities for higher-value services.
Writing in his weekly blog on 15 November, Chan said offshore yuan bonds, known as "dim sum bonds", have grown rapidly this year. In the first three quarters, they accounted for 38 per cent of all bonds listed in Hong Kong, surpassing US dollar bonds for the first time. Issuers have become more diverse, including mainland technology firms, overseas governments and financial institutions.
Chan said Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) will launch an offshore yuan bond index on 16 November, the exchange's first bond index, covering more than 300 offshore yuan bonds listed in Hong Kong. He said the index would provide a benchmark for the growing dim sum bond market.
Chan attributed the wider use of the offshore yuan to real trade demand, as businesses and investors seek to diversify risk amid geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism.
Turning to shipping, Chan said global trade patterns are changing, with green transition and artificial intelligence reshaping the industry. In the first 10 months of this year, orders for alternative-fuel vessels rose nearly 60 per cent year-on-year, but only about 25 ports worldwide can supply methanol, leaving infrastructure far behind demand. Chan called this a chance for Hong Kong's international shipping centre to upgrade from quantity to value.
The government, Chan said, is focusing not just on container throughput but on higher-value shipping services such as financing, insurance, vessel management, fuel supply, mediation and arbitration. Hong Kong's port is efficient, with deep-sea container vessels staying an average of only one day, half the global average for major ports, making it an important "time-saving port" for international shipping. The city's development strategy is to turn this efficiency advantage into a service advantage.