Paul Chan highlights 4 priorities ahead of Apec finance ministers’ meeting this month

The Apec finance ministers’ meeting in Hong Kong this month will focus on fiscal policies that support livelihoods, digital infrastructure financing, inclusive finance and young financial talent, underlining the city’s role as an international financial centre, the finance chief said.

“These four priorities are areas of strength for Hong Kong and fields in which we can make an active contribution,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote in his weekly blog on Sunday.

“Hosting the finance ministers’ meeting in Hong Kong highlights the central government’s strong support for the city and reflects the city’s status as an important international financial centre in the region.”

About 500 guests, including finance ministers and senior officials from Apec’s 21 member economies, are expected to attend the annual meeting on October 20 and 21 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. It will be the first time Hong Kong is hosting the event.

Chan noted that the Apec gathering, alongside Monday’s opening of the new Huanggang Port, showed how Hong Kong was strengthening regional economic ties through infrastructure and major events.

He outlined Hong Kong’s efforts and strengths in the four areas set out in the meeting’s agenda, noting that the city had been training students and young professionals in green finance, asset and wealth management and fintech. It provided internships and educational courses to help the younger generation better understand regional markets and emerging businesses.

Chan added that more than 150 young volunteers had been recruited to help at the Apec meeting, offering them a valuable learning experience outside the classroom while allowing visiting guests to feel the enthusiasm and hospitality of the city’s youth.

On green finance, Chan emphasised the city’s role in connecting regional projects seeking funding with investors who look for transparency through green bonds, transition finance, project certification and professional services. He noted that Hong Kong had issued about US$38 billion in green and sustainable bonds in 2025, the highest value in the Asian market for the eighth consecutive year.

Chan also highlighted the city’s efforts to advance inclusive finance, citing the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Commercial Data Interchange programme, which allows small and medium-sized enterprises to authorise banks in advance to access operational data from different sources, improving the efficiency of loan approvals and easing financing difficulties.

The finance chief also said Hong Kong could foster deeper exchange and collaboration among Apec governments, financial institutions, investors and tech companies, allowing public resources to play a guiding role and mobilising more market capital to support the development of the regional digital economy and artificial intelligence.

Beyond the four priorities, Chan said Hong Kong would also showcase its strength as an international insurance and risk-management hub, which could help facilitate regional collaboration amid increasing climate risks.

“Our insurance-linked securities services, captive insurance companies and ‘Marine Specialty Risk Pool’ can cooperate with regional partners. Catastrophe bonds and speciality underwriting can provide additional protection and financing tools for regional infrastructure investment and climate-risk response,” he said.

“These open up broader markets for Hong Kong’s financial, insurance and professional services sectors.”

He added that he expected dignitaries attending the meetings to learn about Hong Kong’s latest developments in innovation, technology and urban construction, while experiencing the city’s cultural and artistic vitality and charm.

Mainland China is the host of this year’s Apec meetings, with the annual Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held in Shenzhen in November.