Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui led a delegation of local financial sector representatives to the Northern Metropolis today to review its construction progress. The delegation comprised senior management from the asset management, private equity, insurance, accounting and fintech sectors, alongside representatives from financial regulatory bodies.
The group visited the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation & Technology Park, the Kwu Tung North New Development Area (NDA), and the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA. This itinerary allowed them to examine local industrial layouts and assess future investment and financing opportunities.
Through these on-site inspections, delegates gained a comprehensive understanding of the development advantages of “one river, two banks” and “one zone, two parks” in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone and its synergy with the San Tin Technopole. They also observed the emerging infrastructure in the Kwu Tung North NDA and reviewed Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen’s proximity to Qianhai as a professional services and logistics hub.
Discussions also focused on how financial services can support technological innovation and meet the substantial project financing needs driven by Kwu Tung Station, the Northern Link, and local housing plans. The delegation also explored potential the commercial potential of the Hung Shui Kiu Industrial Park, large-scale district developments, and the upcoming University Town.
Mr Hui noted that the Chief Executive explicitly highlighted finance as Hong Kong’s fundamental strength in the recently announced First Five-Year Plan. He described the Northern Metropolis as the ideal setting to realise the “dual integration” of a “Finance+” strategy with the real economy, positioning the financial sector as an active engine driving strategic transformation.
“We organised this visit precisely to enable the financial industry to have the first-hand insights into the land, with a view to comprehensively promoting the integrated development of the financial sector and the real economy,” Mr Hui stated. He added that leveraging market forces and social capital to secure sustainable financial support for local infrastructure, commercial projects, and industry parks remains a key strategy for the Government.
“This is also the most vivid embodiment of our full-fledged efforts to drive Hong Kong’s evolution from a ‘financial city’ into a ‘finance-empowered city’, using finance as a catalyst to boost development in technology, green transition and livelihoods,” he noted.
To support this vision, the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are exploring options within the regulatory capital framework for banks to facilitate financing for government-related entities, such as park companies and funded universities. This measure aims to unlock greater financing flexibility to accelerate projects in the area.
Furthermore, following updates to the risk-based capital regime for the insurance industry, preferential capital treatment will be introduced for infrastructure investments from December 31 this year. The Government anticipates that this new measure will drive substantial insurance capital into infrastructure projects across the Northern Metropolis development.