Financial regulators and professional organizations in Hong Kong lauded the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s inaugural Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026-30) and its fifth Policy Address, saying they can guide Hong Kong to proactively align with national development strategies through consolidating and enhancing the city's status as an international financial center.

In delivering the SAR’s first five-year plan and the fifth Policy Address on Wednesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the city aims to strengthen its role as a global offshore financial hub in three key areas — renminbi business, asset-and-wealth management, and risk management activities.

The chief executive made a point of mentioning that the government will take the lead in actively exploring and promoting the use of RMB to settle government expenditure under suitable scenarios, noting it will further enhance the offshore RMB market’s capacity to support the real economy, enabling trade, investment, financing and cross-border business dealings to grow.

An SAR government source said that excluding principal and interest payments on government-issued RMB bonds, the government currently spends 20 million yuan ($2.98 million) on average per month on various recurrent expenditure items. The administration in the future will encourage different government departments to use RMB, based on the willingness of suppliers and actual application scenarios, the source added.

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Carlson Tong Ka-shing, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, said “the bourse operator will deepen connectivity with the Chinese mainland and international markets, and bolster the city’s position as a premier gateway for capital, opportunities and ideas between the Chinese mainland and the world.”

“We will consider how the Securities and Futures Commission can further support the implementation of the key initiatives set out in the blueprint such as strengthening Hong Kong’s role as a global offshore RMB business hub and international asset and wealth management center, as well as enhancing the depth, breath and competitiveness of Hong Kong’s capital markets,” said Kelvin Wong Tin-yau, SFC chairman.

Other measures planned to bolster the SAR’s offshore RMB business include increasing liquidity, expanding product supply, supporting the inclusion of RMB counters under Southbound Stock Connect trading, and promoting the advantages of the city’s offshore RMB services to overseas markets.

“We are seeing a new phase of RMB internationalization in Hong Kong as a larger pool of offshore RMB liquidity is supporting more frequent (dim sum bond) issuance and a more active secondary market, where investors can trade, finance and manage RMB assets rather than simply hold them to maturity. Developments in tokenization, digital settlement and other market infrastructure are happening alongside this,” said Angela Chan, a partner at Clifford Chance based in Hong Kong.

In addition to RMB internationalization, the policy documents also cover the international asset and wealth management center, risk management activities, the commodity trading ecosystem, “Finance+” empowerment, as well as financial risk prevention.

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Stephen Yiu Kin-wah, chairman of the Insurance Authority, said the insurance industry regulator will implement measures such as deepening regulatory collaboration, crafting specialized risk management tools and enhancing the Risk-based Capital Regime, thereby supporting the establishment of “four centers and one hub” and bolstering the competitive edge of Hong Kong as an international financial center.

“The further deepening of offshore RMB business, including renminbi counters under Southbound Stock Connect, and the build-out of a strategic commodity hub, underpinned by robust measures for gold trading development, also advance our recommendations and reinforce Hong Kong's role in global capital flows,” said the Financial Services Development Council.

Benjamin Hung Pi-ching, chairman of the FSDC, said that “the government's 'Finance+' strategy plays a pivotal role in unlocking new opportunities for talent development, and the FSDC will collaborate closely with industry partners to empower our younger generation and reinforce Hong Kong's role as an indispensable global capital nexus.”

On Wednesday, Z/Yen from the United Kingdom and the China Development Institute from Shenzhen ranked Hong Kong as the world’s third and the Asia-Pacific’s first financial center in the Global Financial Centers Index 40 Report.