Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said Hong Kong can use its niche offerings in financial services, innovation and technology, as well as trade and logistics to enhance cooperation opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Chan said this at a forum hosted by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong on Tuesday. The forum is exploring how Hong Kong can enhance its professional services for strengthening collaboration with other GBA cities.

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“As one of the leading cities in the GBA, Hong Kong should capitalize on its unique niches in financial services, innovation and technology, and professional services, giving full play to its role as a reciprocal platform of ‘coming in and going out’, and strengthen collaboration with other GBA cities to make the city-cluster area one of the most competitive regions in the world,” CGCC Chairman Jonathan Choi Koon-shum said in the forum’s opening session.

In the innovation and technology segment, Hong Kong can attract international capital, talent and data. The cross-boundary flow of data between Hong Kong and the mainland will help boost the development of the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare technologies, Chan said

Regarding financial services, the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s five new measures to support Hong Kong’s capital market, including encouraging the Chinese mainland’s leading enterprises to pursue listings in Hong Kong, will be very important to the city,” Choi said.

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“If important companies can have good business development and profitability after listing in Hong Kong, it will help attract more international institutional investors and provide Hong Kong’s capital market with more liquidity. We welcome GBA companies listing in Hong Kong,” Chan said at the CGCC forum.

Chan added that Hong Kong and mainland financial regulatory bodies should diversify product offerings in the capital market connectivity programs, because expanding interconnectedness will facilitate international capital to invest in the mainland stock market, while helping mainland enterprises tap into mainland and international capital when they list in Hong Kong.

He stressed Hong Kong’s financial services ecosystem can cater to other corporate financing needs besides initial public offerings, for example, Hong Kong’s robust venture capital and private equity sector can satisfy mainland technology firms’ financing needs in different corporate development stages.

In the innovation and technology segment, Hong Kong can attract international capital, talent and data. The cross-boundary flow of data between Hong Kong and the mainland will help boost the development of the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare technologies, Chan said.

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Chan added that Hong Kong must strengthen collaboration with Shenzhen, with more measures to enhance the free flow of talent, data, capital and goods.

He said the cross-boundary sandbox established by financial regulatory bodies across the border can provide feedback that will help improve cross-border fintech service solutions before implementation.

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Chan also pledged to develop Hong Kong into an international supply-chain management center and trade finance center, as mainland enterprises relocate some of their manufacturing processes in Southeast Asia because of geopolitical tensions.

“Hong Kong professional firms can expand their service roles when mainland companies are going out, for example, ESG (environmental, social and governance) consultation will have great market potential in the future,” Chan said.

Another professional services segment that Hong Kong excels at is intellectual property protection. “We hope companies choose Hong Kong as a destination to register their patents, whereas Hong Kong will develop the patent box regime and strengthen collaboration with the mainland to facilitate the valuation and trading of those intellectual property rights.”