Hong Kong, Shanghai sign financial cooperation MOU

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Services Office on January 19 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on advancing Hong Kong-Shanghai financial cooperation.

The aim of the MOU is to actively promote dual development and cooperation between financial services in the two cities.

Witnessed by Hong Kong Financial Secretary John C. Tsang, Shanghai Vice Mayor Tu Guangshao and other guests, Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury K.C. Chan and Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Services Director Fang Xinghai signed the MOU at the Central Government Offices. 

“Hong Kong and Shanghai should step up cooperation for the country's financial development,” Professor Chan said. “As a highly international, liberal and institutionalized international financial center, Hong Kong has relatively rich experience and advantages in facilitating Mainland financial institutions to go international step by step, attracting foreign capital and introducing financial innovation. On the other hand, Shanghai enjoys a prestigious position in mobilizing capital, talent and financial institutions on the Mainland.”

Hong Kong and Shanghai should capitalize on their respective strengths to contribute to financial reform on the Mainland, he noted. According to the MOU, the two cities will strengthen financial cooperation under the framework of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference and with the advice and support of the state's financial authorities.

The MOU outlines three directions for advancing cooperation. First, the MOU establishes the overall objectives for advancing financial cooperation between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, with reference to the State Council’s advice of developing Shanghai into an international financial center and following the principle of “complementing the edges, benefiting each other and achieving a win-win situation,” the two cities will enhance cooperation, facilitate each other and prosper together.

“This would also strengthen the international competitiveness of our country's financial services industry,” he said.

Second, the MOU sets out priority areas for advancing financial cooperation between the two cities. These include enhancing cooperation in the development of financial markets, encouraging and supporting mutual establishment of financial institutions and stepping up training and exchange of financial talent.

Hong Kong and Shanghai will also strengthen ties between their financial organizations under their respective regulatory frameworks.  The MOU encourages the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing to foster closer links over the listing of enterprises, development and collaboration of products and sharing of information.

The third area for advancing cooperation concerns improving the dialogue and exchanges between the financial services of the two cities. Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Services Office will jointly take the lead to coordinate representatives of government departments, financial regulators and financial market organizations to meet annually. They will take turns to host the annual meetings.

With the signing of the MOU, Professor Chan said he hopes both places will make joint efforts, advance exchanges, further complement each other’s competitive edges and advance strategic collaboration to promote the development of the financial services industry.