Hong Kong seen well-positioned to boost cross-border transition finance

Hong Kong can harness its financial strengths and role as a bridge between the Chinese mainland and global markets to advance cross-border transition finance, industry heavyweights said at the 18th Asian Financial Forum on Tuesday.

Speaking at a panel themed "Accelerating Flows of Transition Finance: Shaping a Sustainable Future for GBA and Beyond", Daniel Fung, vice-chairman of Hong Kong's Financial Services Development Council, noted that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is uniquely positioned to "unify" different carbon markets.

Since 2013, regional carbon trading markets had been rolled out in eight mainland provinces and cities, before the launch of a national carbon market in 2021.Fung said the challenge is how to integrate these domestic markets with their international counterparts. Building on its experiences in facilitating stock and bond connectivity with the mainland, Hong Kong can promote the establishment of a common carbon market, Fung said.