Hong Kong to host APEC finance ministers' meeting, highlighting four key priorities: Paul Chan
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Hong Kong will host the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting next week, focusing on four areas that showcase the city's strengths: fiscal policy, digital infrastructure finance, inclusive finance, and young financial talent exchanges. Chan noted Hong Kong issued over US
Hong Kong will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers' Meeting 2026 next week, focusing on four areas that represent the city's distinct strengths, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his weekly blog post on Sunday.
Chan said this year marks APEC “China Year”, centred on the theme “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together”, guided by three core priorities: openness, innovation, and cooperation. Representatives from 21 APEC economies will discuss fiscal policy, digital infrastructure finance, inclusive finance, and exchanges and collaboration among young financial talents. Topics include stabilising citizens’ livelihoods, raising productivity, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, and nurturing the next generation.
The Asia-Pacific region is Hong Kong’s most active market, Chan said, noting that 87 per cent of the city’s total external trade is with APEC member economies. He added that in introducing long-term capital for the low-carbon transition, the total amount of green and sustainable debt issued in Hong Kong exceeded US$76 billion in 2025, of which about US$38 billion in green and sustainable bonds were arranged and issued in the city. This placed Hong Kong first in the Asian market for eight consecutive years.
Chan said the scale of debt issued demonstrates that Hong Kong is well positioned to bridge project financing needs with investors' demand for transparency, in areas such as green bonds, transition financing, project certification, and professional services. Digital infrastructure also requires enormous funding, he said, as developing artificial intelligence drives investment in computing power, data centers, and cloud services.
Chan said Hong Kong can therefore promote more exchanges and collaboration among APEC members, facilitate cross-regional exchanges among governments, financial institutions, investors, and technology enterprises, and explore public-private partnership financing models. In addition to addressing key topics, Chan said Hong Kong will also showcase its strengths as an international insurance and risk management hub, providing insurance-linked securities services, captive insurers, specialised marine risk pools, catastrophe bonds, and specialised risk underwriting.
Chan said attending financial officials, business leaders, and guests can also learn about Hong Kong's development in innovation and technology and urban construction, and experience the city's vitality and charm in culture and arts.