Financial Secretary Paul Chan began a visit to Bangkok, Thailand today by attending the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, as a member of the Chinese delegation.

Mr Chan attended a roundtable co-organised by the IMF and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. The session explored how economies in the Middle East and Central Asia can better leverage the vast opportunities offered by Hong Kong’s investment and financing markets.

In a speech, Mr Chan said that the increasingly close financial ties between Hong Kong and both the Middle East and Central Asia allow investors diversify their portfolios and help enterprises to raise capital. As economies in the two regions continue to develop and diversify, Hong Kong can support them by mobilising long-term capital, broadening currency options, and sharing risks.

Regarding long-term capital mobilisation, he emphasised that Hong Kong’s common law system under “one country, two systems”, its free flow of capital, the Linked Exchange Rate System, its diverse investor base, and its connectivity with both Mainland and international capital markets all provide a solid foundation for investment.

On broadening currency options, he outlined that Hong Kong continues to enhance its offshore Renminbi (RMB) ecosystem to facilitate financing, settlement and investment. He said this helps enterprises with close business ties to the Mainland reduce currency conversion risks, allowing them to better align the currencies of their receipts, payments and borrowings.

Mr Chan invited international multilateral organisations, financial institutions and insurers to collaborate on promoting more efficient capital mobilisation and risk management, enabling all parties to share in the benefits of economic development. He added that Hong Kong’s concentration of professional expertise and extensive experience can help structure projects to make them bankable, fostering a virtuous cycle in which investment drives growth and growth creates investment opportunities.

Mr Chan also called on Chinese Ambassador to Thailand Zhang Jianwei, to exchange views on Thailand’s economy, China-Thailand relations and the international landscape. During the meeting, he provided an update on Hong Kong’s economy and an overview of the city’s First Five-Year Plan. The two parties discussed strengthening economic, trade and people-to-people exchanges between Hong Kong and Thailand.

Additionally, Mr Chan met the International Finance Corporation’s Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific Sarvesh Suri to discuss deepening co-operation across several key areas.

These included mobilising private capital to support sustainable development in infrastructure, education, healthcare and the digital economy; participating in the formulation of relevant international standards; strengthening financing support for trade, supply chains and small and medium-sized enterprises; using financial instruments such as catastrophe bonds to manage and share climate risks; and enhancing co-operation in talent training.

Mr Chan will continue his visit to Bangkok tomorrow, when he will attend the plenary session of the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group.