Hong Kong should use ‘safe haven’ status to draw capital from Gulf: agency chief
InvestHK director general says more firms using Dubai as a hub have shifted to the city to diversify risk because of conflict
Hong Kong should leverage its position as a “safe haven for investment” to attract foreign capital amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the head of InvestHK has said, noting that more companies using Dubai as a hub have shifted to the city to diversify risk.
The call came as finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po on Friday continued his six-day visit to Beijing, where he met Li Yunze, minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration. They discussed how Hong Kong could support the nation’s efforts to build a financial powerhouse.
Lau said Hong Kong should seize the opportunity as a safe haven to draw foreign capital based in Dubai, even as the government there continued to offer tax incentives, preferential treatment and financial support to attract international investors.
She noted that China and other Asian countries with strong economic growth were some of the top destinations for companies seeking expansion, while sovereign funds had also shown an interest in diverting investment to the city and the East, even before the US-Israel war on Iran began last month.
“What we have seen is that not only Middle Eastern money, but companies and countries that have traditionally used Dubai as a hub, have now shifted mostly to Hong Kong – maybe a little bit to Singapore – because they want to diversify their risk,” Lau said.