It is universally recognized that Hong Kong, together with New York and London, is one of the three international financial centers, while it’s comparatively less known to all that our city is also one of the three asset management centers — a business that brings hundreds of billions of capital to Hong Kong every year.迷你倉 Indebted to the cancellation of inheritance tax in 2006 and free of restrictions on foreign exchange, Hong Kong, in the past few years, is developing into a preferential place that attracts a wealth of overseas funds to open up businesses. However, in the neighboring areas in Asia, we do face a competitive rival — Singapore, whose asset management scale is on a par with Hong Kong. Money is hence diverted between the two well-matched Asian cities, depending on investors’ own judgments and how much merit the city possesses in the international asset management industry. Switzerland, as a whole, is the flagship of the industry, and the Swiss National Bank has recently chosen Singapore to set up its overseas branch, reflecting that the bank views optimistically about asset management prospects in the East, and also, it gives more credit to Singapore than Hong Kong regarding this industry. Actually, speaking of business environment and the freedom of economic system, Hong Kong outstrips the island republic. As for the asset management industry, however, the most distinctive difference is that Singapore adopts a government-oriented mode, while Hong Kong insists on being market-dominated. Therefore, the weaker outreach strategies for publicity leads to Hong Kong’s slight inferiority. The good news is that Supplement X to the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), which is signed mutually by the central and HKSAR governments, provides for financial cooperation in that “the mainland agreed to actively study mutual recognition of fund products between the mainland and Hong Kong; and to actively support qualified Hong Kong insurers to take part in compuls自存倉ry traffic accident liability insurance business on the mainland”. In other words, with CEPA’s future implementation, the central government acts as the formidable back-up force for Hong Kong, and naturally, the asset management businesses will be able to absorb vast amount of funds, moving one more step forward to the top spot in the Asia-Pacific region.According to Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong analysis, until the first half of 2013, among the 1,845 unit trusts and mutual funds authorized by the Securities and Futures Commission, the number of Hong Kong-registered trusts and funds stood at 381 — an increase of 16.5 percent compared with 273 last year. In future, if mutual authorization between Hong Kong and the mainland is achieved, unit trusts and mutual funds registered in Hong Kong will be allowed to be sold on the mainland, providing a seductive factor for more fund companies to settle in the HKSAR. The asset management business will then flourish, at the same time mobilizing the demand for related industries, including legal services and accounting.Some might wonder how beneficial the industry really is to Hong Kong, and why we should seize the business opportunity. Let’s make some simple calculations. Last year, the scale of the industry in Hong Kong reached HK$12.59 trillion, and if we use such a calculation and charge 1 percent only for management cost, earnings will be HK$125.9 billion. And, as a matter of fact, the management fee actually costs way more than 1 percent, thus the involved economic benefit is beyond considerable. Moreover, the land-saving, pollution-free and high-value asset management industry pertains to the tertiary industry, which, as I had mentioned several times in my previous articles, is the optimum choice for Hong Kong, so the industry and the SAR government should take positive action to promote and seize such business opportunities. The author is vice-president of the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong.迷你倉
留言列表
