Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K. C. Chan, encouraged U.S. companies to look to Hong Kong as the preferred listing venue.

In a keynote address at the Hong Kong Financial Summit, co-hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Professor Chan talked about Hong Kong’s many advantages as an international financial hub and a premier listing center. The Hong Kong Financial Summit, entitled “Globalization through Hong Kong’s Capital Markets” was attended by more than 350 business leaders, and venture capitalists in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“In March last year, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and our Securities and Futures Commission issued a Joint Policy Statement aimed at facilitating the listing of overseas companies in Hong Kong. Our stock exchange is also planning to launch a Depository Receipt framework in Hong Kong later this year,” said Professor Chan.

Professor Chan noted that as an international financial center, Hong Kong is running on parallel tracks – both national and international. “Our stock market traded at record high levels last year, we are making good progress in developing a market for Islamic finance and we are the first to launch a Renminbi bond market outside the Mainland of China. We are also reaching out to tap business opportunities in emerging markets such as Russia, Vietnam and India.”

He told the audience that Hong Kong has become one of the largest asset management centers in Asia. “Our combined fund management business shot up by 36% in 2006 from a year earlier, to just shy of US$800 billion. Hong Kong is ranked number one in derivatives warrants turnover, number one in Asia’s stock options markets, second in the Exchange Traded Fund market after Japan, fifth in total equity raised for our stock market, and fourth in the world for IPO funds raised. In 2007, we were voted the Derivatives Exchange of the Year by Asia Risk,” continued Professor Chan.

In the January 28 edition, TIME Magazine coined a new term “Nylonkong”. The lead article placed Hong Kong alongside London and New York as examples of globalization, including globalization of the capital markets. “For a partner halfway between Wall Street and London, there is no better place to look than Hong Kong,” Professor Chan concluded.

In addition to addressing the audience at the Hong Kong Financial Summit in Santa Clara, Professor Chan also met with Mr. Gregory E. Johnson, President, CEO and Director of Franklin Resources, Inc. Franklin Resources is a global investment firm and has around US$646 billion of assets under management. They have established an office in Hong Kong since 1993.

He then spoke at Stanford University to some 70 faculty members and students before attending a reception co-hosted by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco and Hong Kong Association of Northern California at the Bankers’ Club in San Francisco to meet leading business executives.