Phoenix TV:
The modern service industry, and mainly the financial sector, is a competitive industry in Hong Kong and a sector jointly developed by Shenzhen and Hong Kong in Qianhai. What are your considerations for better playing Hong Kong's role as an international financial center and enhancing its cooperation with Qianhai to provide higher-quality financial services for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, or even for the whole country? Thank you.
Chen Wenjun:
Your question is related to the PBC and Hong Kong SAR. As such, I'll invite Mr. John Lee Ka-chiu answer this question first.
John Lee Ka-chiu:
Thank you for your question. The Qianhai plan stressed that it will further open the financial sector, including carrying out trials in areas such as interconnectivity with Hong Kong's financial markets, cross-border utilization of RMB, and foreign-exchange management facilitation. It also proposed launching a pilot account system that allows settlement in RMB and foreign currencies in the same bank account, so as to provide quality, safe and highly efficient services for market entities. In addition, the plan proposed deepening green finance cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and exploring the establishment of unified green finance standards, so as to serve mainland enterprises' fundraising for green projects in Hong Kong and Macao.
In fact, the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) pledged to support Hong Kong in enhancing its status as an international financial center, to strengthen its functions as a global offshore RMB business hub and an international center for asset management and risk management, and to deepen and expand the interconnectivity between the mainland and Hong Kong's financial markets. Shenzhen's Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) also specified that the city will establish a global financial innovation center, including building a global center for innovation capital and a global center for innovation and technology.
Hong Kong and Shenzhen are the hubs and driving engines of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Under the leadership of the chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR and the secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, we set up special working groups with Shenzhen municipal government to promote financial connectivity and cooperation between the two cities, thus contributing to the high-quality development of the Greater Bay Area and deepening the reform of the country's financial market.
Financial cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong remains close, and a number of fruitful outcomes were yielded. For example, in terms of interconnectivity, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect has run smoothly and expanded continuously since its launch in 2016. By the end of this July, the cumulative turnover of northbound transactions exceeded 28 trillion yuan, and the cumulative turnover of southbound transactions exceeded HK$8.3 trillion. Since the end of last December, the scope of southbound stocks eligible in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect has been expanded to biotech companies that go public on the Hong Kong stock market under new listing rules, but haven't yet had a record of revenue or profit.
The Hong Kong SAR government will continue to deepen cooperation in the financial services sector with the government of Shenzhen, contributing to the Greater Bay Area and the country as a whole. Thank you.
