John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), attends a press conference on the delivery of his policy address in Hong Kong, south China, Sept. 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

HONG KONG, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), announced plans to expedite the development of new growth areas to reinforce Hong Kong's status as an international financial center, including the establishment of an international gold trading market.

Delivering his policy address on Wednesday, Lee said that the HKSAR will support the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and financial institutions to establish Hong Kong's gold storage facilities, with a target gold storage capacity of over 2,000 tons in three years, propelling Hong Kong into a regional gold reserve hub.

Lee emphasized the need to encourage gold traders to set up or expand refineries in Hong Kong, and to explore with the mainland the feasibility of processing supplied materials in the mainland to produce refined gold for exporting to Hong Kong for trading and delivery.

He also announced plans to establish a central clearing system for gold in Hong Kong to provide efficient and reliable clearing services for transactions of gold in compliance with international standards, and to invite the participation of the Shanghai Gold Exchange to prepare for mutual market access with the mainland in the future.

Lee also highlighted plans to offer a greater variety of gold investment vehicles by assisting issuers in issuing gold funds, and to support the development of new investment products such as tokenized gold, and pledged support for the setting up of a trade association for the gold industry, with a view to establishing an exchange platform with the HKSAR government and regulators, stepping up promotional efforts and attracting more clients from Belt and Road countries and regions, while strengthening talent training.

The chief executive noted that the International Board of the Shanghai Gold Exchange has set up its first offshore delivery vault in Hong Kong and launched new contracts for delivery in Hong Kong, adding that the HKSAR will continue to promote cooperation between the gold markets of the two cities.

The HKSAR will also leverage the Technology Enterprises Channel to assist mainland technology enterprises in raising funds in Hong Kong, strengthening financial support for China's development as a science and technology powerhouse, Lee said.

Lee emphasized the HKSAR government's commitment to encouraging more overseas enterprises to seek secondary listing in Hong Kong and supporting China Concept Stock companies to return from overseas markets, with Hong Kong as their preferred destination. Additionally, he pledged to press ahead with the inclusion of an RMB trading counter under Stock Connect's Southbound trading for Hong Kong stocks.

The Hong Kong stock market has maintained its strong momentum, said Lee, adding that at the end of August, the cumulative amount of funds raised through IPOs exceeded 130 billion Hong Kong dollars (16.71 billion U.S. dollars), nearly six times higher than that of the same period last year, ranking Hong Kong the first globally in IPO fundraising.

During his address, Lee also announced measures to refine the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES), a program designed to attract talents and new capital and bolster the city's asset and wealth management sector.

Currently, CIES applicants are required to invest at least 30 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong, with the maximum amount of investment in real estate (both residential and non-residential) to be counted toward the scheme capped at 10 million Hong Kong dollars.

The scheme will be enhanced, raising the maximum amount of investment to be counted to 15 million Hong Kong dollars for the purchase of non-residential properties with no transaction price threshold, Lee said.

The HKSAR government will further enhance the preferential tax regimes for funds, single family offices and carried interest to attract more funds to establish a presence in Hong Kong, while facilitating the enhancement of the Qualified Foreign Limited Partnerships mechanism, Lee said. (1 Hong Kong dollar equals 0.13 U.S. dollars) ■

John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), attends a press conference on the delivery of his policy address in Hong Kong, south China, Sept. 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), attends a press conference on the delivery of his policy address in Hong Kong, south China, Sept. 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)