Latest news with #SouthboundStockConnect
RTHK
39 minutes ago
- Business
- RTHK
HK to include renminbi counters in Southbound Connect
HK to include renminbi counters in Southbound Connect Finance chief Paul Chan says the city will accelerate the inclusion of renminbi counters in the city's Southbound Stock Connect scheme. Photo: RTHK Sun Yu, vice chairman and chief executive of Bank of China (Hong Kong), says Hong Kong is gradually transitioning from an offshore renminbi payment centre to a renminbi financing hub. Photo: RTHK Kenneth Hui, executive director (external) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), says the use of renminbi has increased rapidly in recent years thanks to the rising cross-border trade. Photo: RTHK Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Friday reiterated that Hong Kong is speeding up the inclusion of renminbi counters in the Southbound Stock Connect programme as part of efforts to attract more renminbi funds while pushing ahead the internationalisation of the currency. The remarks came in a keynote speech Chan delivered at the Bank of China RMB Internationalisation Forum 2025, where he noted that such developments are not aimed at challenging the status of other international currencies. "The internationalisation of the renminbi has never been aimed at challenging or replacing the status of other currencies. Therefore, it is unnecessary for some people to view it with a zero-sum game mindset," he told participants. "Hong Kong is a testing ground for the country's high-level financial opening-up, the city also serves as a firewall," he said. The finance chief said the city will make good use of its unique advantages linking domestic markets with the world to seize on the opportunities brought by economic and trade cooperation between the country and Asean, the Middle East and the Belt and Road countries. The SAR government, he added, will also continue to promote the internationalisation of the renminbi by increasing the liquidity of offshore renminbi, increasing the issuance of renminbi bonds, speeding up the inclusion of renminbi counters in the Southbound Connect under the Stock Connect programmes, as well as improving connectivity with the mainland's rapid payment system to facilitate capital flows. Echoing Chan, Sun Yu, vice chairman and chief executive of Bank of China (Hong Kong), noted that the SAR is gradually transitioning from an offshore renminbi payment centre to a renminbi financing hub, due to surging interest. "The variety of renminbi products in Hong Kong is gradually increasing, and the related financial infrastructure and supporting facilities are also becoming more and more developed," Sun said. "This has attracted more international investors, numerous multilateral institutions, and non-bank financial institutions to express their interest and allocation needs for renminbi assets. It also reflects that Hong Kong is evolving from an offshore renminbi payment centre into a renminbi financing centre, investment centre, as well as risk management centre." Sun also said that as global financial markets have become more volatile in recent times, Hong Kong can play a significant role to help fend off financial risks by leveraging its mature financial markets as well as regulatory strengths. Separately, Kenneth Hui, executive director (external) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, noted that renminbi bonds issued in the SAR exceeded 1 trillion yuan last year, which was more than the overall deposits in the city. He added that the use of the renminbi has increased rapidly in recent years thanks to rising cross-border trade, and that the proportion of renminbi used in the mainland's global trade has doubled over the past three years to 30 percent, as the renminbi trade settlement processed by banks in the SAR increased to 15 trillion yuan last year from 7 trillion in 2021.
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Online broker Tiger to double Hong Kong headcount, targets offshore China wealth
[HONG KONG] Tiger Securities plans to double its headcount in Hong Kong over the next two to three years as the online brokerage targets a bigger share of the growing offshore Chinese wealth in the financial hub, its chief executive said. The Singapore-headquartered firm, founded in 2014 in Beijing, currently employs 60 people in Hong Kong, where it started operations in late 2022, founder and CEO Tinahua Wu said late Monday. 'Hong Kong is a very important global financial centre and it's not only about the several million local residents,' Wu said. Tiger's parent firm UP Fintech Holding listed in the US in 2019. 'It is because it's backed by China,' the 40-year-old former tech veteran said, adding growing accumulation of Chinese wealth offshore needs investment services. Securities trading activities have risen in the offshore Chinese market since Beijing started to unveil a slew of stimulus last September, a trend which has not been dampened by the global trade tensions, according to Wu. Mainland investors have poured HK$651 billion (S$107 billion) into Hong Kong-listed shares via the Southbound Stock Connect so far this year, more than double the HK$283 billion during the same period last year, CICC analysts said in a note on Tuesday. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The capital inflows augurs well for local brokerages closely connected to clients in China, the world's second-largest economy, at a time when US President Donald Trump's trade war weighs on investor appetite for US assets. The buoyant Hong Kong market has attracted some companies such as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group to foray into Hong Kong by acquiring a 50.55 per cent stake in local broker Bright Smart in April. As more Chinese high-net-worth individuals set up family offices in Hong Kong and domestic companies increasingly seek to expand offshore, Wu said that Tiger expects sizeable growth in demand from both individual and corporate clients. Tiger holds more than US$50 billion worth of assets globally and operates in markets beyond Hong Kong, including the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. The brokerage's assets under custody, a key measure of client holdings in Tiger's Hong Kong accounts, quadrupled in the first quarter of 2025 from the same period last year, according to UP Fintech's first quarter report. Strong pipeline of initial public listings in Hong Kong with 'star' Chinese firms coming to raise funds in the city has also resulted in heightened interest in buying and trading new shares, he said. REUTERS
