Hong Kong holds financial cooperation conference amid global downturn

HONG KONG - The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) and Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) co-organized the Financial Cooperation Conference on Tuesday to discuss economic and financial issues of wide concern amid global downturn.

Themed as "Stimulating Growth in the Real Economy: the Role of Finance," the conference attracted some 250 participants including representatives from regulatory authorities, international bodies, financial institutions, multinational corporations and academia from different countries and regions.

The five sessions of the conference were devoted to economic and financial issues of wide concern, including monetary policy and economic growth, cross-border capital flows, infrastructure and its financing, and Asian financial cooperation. Participants shared their valuable views and advice at the sessions.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying addressed the launch ceremony. Leung said that under that circumstance of Britain leaving the European Union, Hong Kong's financial market has maintained steady growth and sufficient liquidity. He believed local financial institutions would turn crisis into opportunities as they have passed stress tests and relevant supervision and regulation authorities have prepared risk management measures.

Speaking at the luncheon, John Tsang, Hong Kong's financial secretary said that Asia, and in particular China, will continue to be the main engine of growth for the world economy in the 21st century. With its enviable location at the heart of Asia and its extensive economic and cultural connections, Hong Kong can play a unique role directing capital between Asia and the rest of the world, and further profit from Asia's continued ascendancy.

In his welcoming remarks, Zhou Wenzhong, Secretary General of the BFA, said that financial cooperation is a major key and entry point for promoting the integration of Asian economies. Since the outbreak of the sub-prime crisis in 2007, a strong thrust for global growth has been lacking. Themed on financial cooperation, the conference in Hong Kong seeks to bring forth innovative solutions through brainstorming among regulators, finance community and real economy actors, with a view to enhancing the role of finance in the development of the real economy.

Norman Chan, chief executive of HKMA, said that the conference marks the first major public event following the formal launch of the HKMA's Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office. In bringing together senior representations of financial institutions and multilateral organizations from around the world, the conference provides an exciting chance to explore the development prospects of infrastructure investment and financing from both policy and business perspectives. This will help foster a greater understanding and interest of various stakeholders in the infrastructure investment and financing opportunities under the Belt and Road initiative.

Other guests and speakers attending the conference included Samir Assaf, chief executive of the Global Banking and Markets of the HSBC, Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Wu Xiaoling, vice chairperson of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress of China.