Source: Global Times    Published: 2024-11-3

By Tao Mingyang

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday that his visit to Saudi Arabia last week saw a slew of "fruitful results," as the tour further highlighted the region's crucial role in international markets. 

The HKSAR is ready to further tap into the potential for cooperation with the Middle Eastern market, for better participating in and contributing to the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, Chan wrote in his blog on Sunday. 

During Chan's visit, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia to jointly establish an investment fund of $1 billion.

The fund will invest in enterprises in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, fintech and healthcare, supporting these enterprises' business in Saudi Arabia, according to Chan.

More than 20 start-ups from Hong Kong conducted roadshows during the Saudi Future Investment Initiative summit. Seven of those companies signed MoUs with Middle Eastern companies and institutions, and one fintech firm from the Hong Kong Cyberport signed a commercial agreement with local partners.

Chan on Wednesday (local time) attended a listing ceremony for the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Saudi Arabia that invests in Hong Kong stocks at the Saudi Exchange, according to a press release from the HKSAR Government. 

As the largest ETF in the Middle East, it will attract more regional investors and broaden funding sources for the Hong Kong market, while diversifying the investment product offerings in the Saudi market, fostering the development of its ETF market and creating a win-win situation, said Chan during the ceremony.  

Participants from the HKSAR also had in-depth exchanges with Saudi investors and financial regulators, discussing bilateral collaboration in financial services, product research and development and talent training. 

Multiple Middle Eastern investment firms said that the HKSAR's role as a "supper-connector" will help them engage with emerging markets of various backgrounds and cultures, aside from connecting them with markets in the Chinese mainland, Europe and the US, wrote Chan.

Given the promising development prospects in China, it is normal to see more investors from the Middle East turn to leveraging business opportunities in the East Asian country, Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Sunday.

In November 2023, the Asia-Pacific's first and the world's largest Saudi Arabia-focused ETF went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange. On July 16 this year, two Saudi ETFs made strong market debuts on both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. 

"Hong Kong has its unique advantage in capital internationalization compared with the Chinese mainland, as the effect of being a 'super-connector' remains," said Dong, adding that Saudi Arabia's intentions to cooperate with the HKSAR also underscore its willingness to leverage the Chinese mainland's market.