Photos/Graphics

China's No1 financial center: Hong Kong

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-08-02 16:53

Hong Kong, China's No 1 financial center. [Xinhua]

 

Hong Kong, China's No 1 financial hub has become one of the most successful economies in Asia.

Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade and finance. The support from the Chinese mainland, the excellence of legal, banking and financial systems, the simple tax system, the free trade system, and the smart and hardworking people of Hong Kong are the factors that contribute most to the booming of the Hong Kong economy.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, or HKEx, operates a securities market and a derivatives market in Hong Kong, as well as the clearing houses for those markets. HKEx was listed in Hong Kong in 2000 and is now one of the world's largest exchange owners based on the market capitalization of its shares.

The city's stock market, which is Asia's second largest after Tokyo, was established in 1891. The market has developed and retains a sound legal and regulatory system used for the dealings, disputes, claims and liabilities of international finance.

The city also has a vibrant capital market and a sound banking system, with around 70 of the world's top 100 banks and 180 insurers operating in the city as of 2007.

Hong Kong over the past few years has become increasingly integrated with the Chinese mainland through trade, tourism, and financial links, and in 2009 became the site of the first Chinese yuan trade settlement facility outside of China.