By Selena Li, Kane Wu and Julie Zhu
HONGKONG – In 1997, the entire world viewed as Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule, with some pessimistic or cautious about the outlook for the town and its purpose in the world fiscal program.
20-5 many years later, Hong Kong has so much retained its standing as a economical hub, and some of the city’s leading executives are banking on a bright long term as the territory continues to be a important springboard for investment decision into mainland China.
Charles Li, previous main government of bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) and founder of microfinance system Micro Join, reported that whilst he believes the next 25 many years will be “very different”, he’s optimistic.
“I’m convinced that the general prosperity of Hong Kong will remain as powerful as just before because Hong Kong retains its worth to each sides,” Li informed Reuters, referring to China and the West.
When he celebrated the handover with close friends much more than two many years in the past in the city’s bustling nightlife district of Lan Kwai Fong, Li mentioned lots of individuals saw it as the “beginning of a really extensive ride, and the greatest is yet to occur.”
On Friday, Hong Kong reaches the halfway mark of a 50-calendar year experiment made to give the metropolis a large degree of autonomy underneath Chinese rule.
Critics of the authorities say political and civil liberties have been hugely curtailed, specially considering the fact that the introduction of a national safety law in 2020.
The finance sector has thrived considering the fact that the handover. The benefit of Hong Kong’s stock current market has surged to HK$27.65 trillion ($3.52 trillion) as of close-June, up from HK$3.2 trillion in 1997 and world investors have develop into significantly reliant on Hong Kong to trade mainland shares.
Turnover on the Hong Kong-Shanghai inventory link pipeline – which provides obtain to intently managed mainland funds – jumped to 46.5 billion yuan on June 22, up from 12.8 billion yuan when it launched in 2014, in accordance to knowledge from HKEX.
On the Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock join channel, turnover stands at about 58 billion yuan, up from 2.7 billion yuan at its launch in 2016.
‘INDISPENSABLE’
Though uncertainty clouds the outlook for political and civil liberties below electoral modifications and the sweeping nationwide security law, other organization executives say Hong Kong’s standing as a economical hub will keep intact.
Some business foyer groups and diplomats have expressed concern around the outlook for Hong Kong, offered an exodus of expertise and problems more than the rule of legislation and judicial independence.
“Hong Kong will stay indispensable, (and) also the most competitive gateway in between China and the rest of the world,” Fred Hu, founder and chairman of personal fairness group Primavera, instructed Reuters. “I don’t feel any mainland metropolis, which include some towns I adore, will bypass Hong Kong.”
The metropolis has contended for some of the world’s best initial general public choices in recent several years, like Alibaba, the New York-shown e-commerce titan, which journeyed to Hong Kong to elevate $13 billion in a secondary listing in November 2019.
Hong Kong has been the world’s major inventory trade by IPO benefit seven times due to the fact the handover, most recently in 2019, when 146 corporations lifted a complete of $40 billion on the primary board, according to Dealogic info.
In a move that authorities say underscores the relevance China attaches to Hong Kong, President Xi Jinping will attend the swearing in of the city’s new chief, John Lee, on Friday as properly as celebrations to mark the handover.
“I feel the central government’s intention towards Hong Kong is benign. They never want to mess up Hong Kong,” Hu explained.
A former protection main who is sanctioned by the United States, Lee will be intently viewed by a fiscal industry eager to get again on observe right after crippling COVID-19 limits that have activated an exodus of people today and observed the border with mainland China largely closed for two decades.
David Chin, UBS‘ head of financial commitment banking for Asia-Pacific, is optimistic on Hong Kong’s outlook, although he states China’s function on the worldwide phase is key.
“Hong Kong is also the global gateway for China,” he stated. “So the overseas relationship, how China interacts with the relaxation of the entire world, is also pretty significant for Hong Kong.”
($1 = 7.8490 Hong Kong dollars)
