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A bilingual sign for the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2024 is displayed on Beijing Financial Street on October 18, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of Financial Street Forum

China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) will encourage banks and insurance firms to issue yuan-denominated bonds and list shares in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to boost the development of the offshore yuan market there, Jiang Bo, an official with the NFRA, said on Sunday.

As part of the efforts to strengthen the HKSAR's status as a major international financial hub, Chinese mainland companies are encouraged to set up their global or regional headquarters in Hong Kong. Additionally, efforts will be made to improve Wealth Management Connect and expand the scope of qualified investment products and investors, Jiang said at the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum (FSF) 2024 held in Beijing.

Thanks to its proximity to the mainland and unique advantages including attractive legal, tax and regulatory settings, a deep talent pool and capital market ecosystem, Hong Kong is able to shore up its standing as an international financial center with a strong capability in alternative asset management, said Phillip Meyer, general counsel and co-chief operating officer of Hong Kong-based hedge fund management firm Oasis Management.

"As the alternatives industry has flourished in the past decade, Asia-focused firms, talent and services providers have naturally based themselves in Hong Kong. The city has built the specialist expertise and knowledge spanning tax, legal, administration and investment management to handle alternative assets, including niche strategies like impact investing," Meyer told the Global Times.

"Hong Kong has good opportunities to capitalize on its proximity to the mainland while maintaining the unique attributes that have made it a successful international financial center. These include its participation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA)," Meyer said.

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday delivered his annual policy address, laying out important initiatives to further cement Hong Kong's position as a leading financial center.

As a gateway to the mainland, Hong Kong will benefit from the broad array of initiatives to deepen mutual market access including enhancements to the Wealth Management Connect and to support its development as an offshore yuan business center through an improved yuan fixed income market infrastructure and more investment products denominated in yuan, according to the policy address.

Hong Kong has risen to become one of the world's pre-eminent international financial centers and helped fuel the growing economies of whole Asia.

According to the Canadian think tank Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World 2024 Annual Report released recently, Hong Kong reclaimed its title as the world's freest economy among 165 economies.

Among the five areas of assessment in the 2024 Report, Hong Kong ranks top in "freedom to trade internationally" and "regulation," and its ranking in "sound money" rises to third globally.