Chan: HK has potential to become global green tech and finance center
Hong Kong has considerable advantages to help it develop into an international green technology and green finance center as the city has attracted many green technology companies and talents, as well as numerous green funds and financial products, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
On the subject of green technology, the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has approved more than HK$800 million ($102 million) in grants for hundreds of research and development and pilot projects related to net-zero power generation, energy-saving green building and green transportation, the finance chief wrote in his Sunday blog.
He added that currently, there are more than 200 green technology companies in Hong Kong, some of which have considerable international competitiveness and have successfully explored domestic and overseas markets.
“The development of green technology has provided more feasible solutions for the global green transformation whereas the industry development has brought huge opportunities and has become an important part of economic growth,” Chan said.
Regarding green finance, the green and sustainable debt arranged or issued in Hong Kong exceeded $80 billion in 2022, accounting for 35 percent of the Asian market. In recent years, both the Shenzhen municipal government and the Hainan provincial government have successfully issued renminbi-denominated green and sustainable bonds in Hong Kong.
“We are actively exploring the establishment of a green classification framework based on the Common Ground Taxonomy that is suitable for Hong Kong and aligns with those of the Chinese mainland and the world. Hong Kong’s efficient financing platform and technological prowess are providing impetus for the green transformation of Hong Kong, the country and the Asian region. In addition to accelerating the entire transformation process, it also opens up new development space,” Chan argued.
The HKSAR will hold its first Hong Kong Green Week at the end of February to better promote crosssector interaction in the development of green technology and green finance, and to better leverage Hong Kong’s role as an international platform.
During the event, there will be a green technology forum and a series of roundtable conferences, where dozens of startup companies engaged in cutting-edge green technology research and development will showcase their technologies and products.
As for green finance, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will co-organize a three-day business forum with the International Finance Corp of the World Bank Group. The forum will bring together political and business leaders and industry representatives from the Asia-Pacific region to conduct in-depth discussions on important topics of finance in green transformation.
From the 2015 Paris Agreement to last year’s 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, major economies are paying more attention to the issue of global warming. “Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why major markets around the world attach great importance to the transformation of the green economy, and why different related areas in this process have attracted huge investments and are developing rapidly,” Chan said.
“Even in the face of geopolitical uncertainty, high interest rates and high inflation, global investment in clean energy transformation still reached a record-breaking $1.77 trillion last year, an increase of 17 percent year-on-year. It can be expected that investment in areas such as green transformation and wider application of renewable energy will continue to increase,” Chan said.