Hong Kong to keep strengthening financial services industry

HONG KONG - China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government will continue to boost the development of the financial services industry, the financial chief of the HKSAR government said Wednesday.

When delivering Hong Kong's annual budget Wednesday, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR government Paul Chan said Hong Kong is the third largest financial center in the world, ranking high in areas such as stock market, asset management and banking.

"However, to cope with the increasing competition, we have set out a clear vision and blueprint for boosting the development of Hong Kong's financial services industry," Chan said, adding that apart from deepening and widening Hong Kong's financial markets, Hong Kong needs to further strengthen its role as a bridge linking the mainland with the international market.

He said the HKSAR government is gearing up to issue the first batch of government green bonds to promote the development of green finance. It is also studying the establishment of a limited partnership regime and introduction of tax arrangement to attract private equity funds to set up and operate in Hong Kong.

The government will propose legislative amendments to provide tax concessions for marine insurance and the underwriting of specialty risks, and allow for the formation of special purpose vehicle companies specifically for issuing insurance-linked securities, he said.