Hong Kong has unique advantages in financial field: Carrie Lam

HONG KONG -- Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said on Wednesday that overseas investors and Hong Kong residents should have confidence in Hong Kong which enjoys support from the central authorities and its unique advantages in the financial field.

Lam told a press conference that although the tightening of measures against imported coronavirus cases might affect the confidence of foreign investors, the HKSAR government must adhere to these measures in order to prevent further outbreak of COVID-19.

She said that no other economy or city has got the same support from the central authorities in the financial field like Hong Kong, and foreign investors' confidence in Hong Kong should be based on the global financial hub itself, "one country, two systems" and the supportive attitude of the central authorities towards Hong Kong.

The HKSAR government has taken a series of measures after the current COVID-19 outbreak eased, including lifting the flight ban against nine countries, and increasing hotel rooms for quarantine in efforts to gradually resume the cross-boundary flow of people, Lam said.

The chief executive stressed that the most important thing is Hong Kong maintaining its traditional advantages and she believes Hong Kong will witness better development after the epidemic is over.

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the HKSAR government Christopher Hui said at the press conference that Hong Kong's financial market has operated in an orderly manner during the epidemic, and the investment, financing and trading activities are still active.

Since March, the average daily turnover of the stock market has been about HK$180 billion (about $22.99 billion), he noted.

Also on Wednesday, the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts from mainland continued their visit in Hong Kong. They met and exchanged views with local health officials to get a better grasp of the latest COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong. They also met with representatives from Chinese medicine groups in Hong Kong and shared the anti-COVID experiences in the mainland.

Led by Tong Xiaolin, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the TCM expert team from mainland arrived in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Hong Kong registered 2,994 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 3,987 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests on Wednesday, official data showed.