Top HK regulators visit Saudi Arabia, UAE to boost financial services collaboration

Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) chief executive Julia Leung, and executive director of investment products Christina Choi, start a visit today (29 May) to the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – the first official visit to the Middle East by the SFC’s top management.

In statement. the regulator said "the aims of the visit are to strengthen collaboration in financial services between Hong Kong SAR and the two key partners under the Mainland’s Belt and Road Initiative and to promote mutual market developments particularly by leveraging Hong Kong’s status as an international asset and wealth management hub and global fundraising centre".

Leung and Choi will arrive in Abu Dhabi today and also visit Dubai and Riyadh before returning to Hong Kong on 3 June.

During the visit, they will meet with top executives of local financial regulators and stock exchange, as well as financial industry stakeholders, to exchange views on the latest regulatory trends and market developments. They will also participate in roundtable discussions in Dubai and Riyadh with senior executives of major local asset managers and leading financial institutions.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Leung said: “With Hong Kong and the Middle East pro-actively forging closer ties, our well-timed visit would lay a solid foundation for fostering sustained two-way investment flows between financial markets in Hong Kong and both countries.”

“We look forward to enhancing regional market connectivity with our regulatory counterparts and stakeholders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the opportunity to deepen mutual understanding of our respective financial markets and explore the role of Hong Kong in bridging two-way capital flow between Mainland China and these two jurisdictions.”