The two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing concluded yesterday.　　In his closing address at the Leaders' Roundtable Summit of Belt and Road Forum, President Xi Jinping pointed out that the forum provided a platform for all parties to promote down-to-earth cooperation, during which a number of cooperation agreements have been reached and a series of cooperation measures proposed, fully affirming the Forum's role.

　　President Xi stressed that the Belt an Road initiative was of important significance for cultivating new pivot points of economic growth, strengthening concerned countries' endogenous dynamics for growth and promoting global economic growth.　　He also announced the Forum would reconvene in 2019.

　　This is meant the mutually beneficial and win-win Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation gradually builds up a long-acting mechanism to help the Belt and Road construction, which in turn will stimulate demand for financing and professional services for infrastructure projects along the Belt and Road.　　In this field, Hong Kong as an international financial and financing centre will come in handy big time.

　　The world economy has yet to walk out of the shadow of the financial tsunami.　　But globally, the loose monetary policy has reached its end to gradually arouse resistance to action and even produce side-effects, spawning an asset-bubble crisis.　　Right now, countries concerned can only upgrade productivity and stimulate growth in trade through increase in investment in infrastructure.　　There is no other way to revitalise economic dynamics.　　China's Belt and Road initiative focuses on investment in infrastructure construction, which exactly caters to the current objective economic environment and is in the long-term economic interests of China and the world.

　　As a matter of fact, the world economy is facing the problem of continuous low growth and imbalanced development.　　In particular, development in some countries and regions falls behind for a long time.　　Stimulated by increase in infrastructure investment and growth in trade pushed by the Belt and Road construction, developing countries can hopefully become modernised, while developed countries can also benefit from international cooperation to push forward economic restructuring and growth.　　In other words, the Belt and Road construction proactively pushes global economy to re-balance.

　　What is worthy of attention is, China is strengthening its financial support to the Belt and Road construction in order to fill the gap in project financing.　　This provides a good, timely opportunity for Hong Kong to bring into paly its strength in finance and professional services.　　First of all, Hong Kong can play the role as the Belt and Road financing centre.　　The Securities and Futures Commission earlier issued clear guidelines for initial public offerings (IPO) and fund-raising in Hong Kong by Belt and Road infrastructure projects, which can be said to open the door wide for Belt and Road project financing.　　The Monetary Authority and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing also plan to introduce a new platform and a third board to lure Belt and Road projects and innovative enterprises to raise funds [in Hong Kong] by issuing bonds and launching their IPOs.

　　Secondly, Hong Kong's professional services are in an advantageous position.　　China increases its input to the Silk Road fund to RMB100 billion, and the National Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China will respectively provide RMB250 billion and RMB130 billion tied loans.　　A large number of Belt and Road projects are expected to kick off one after another.　　Hong Kong is in an advantageous position to compete for project design, construction, management and providing professional consultative services.

　　Thirdly, Hong Kong can play the Super Connector role in the Belt and Road construction.　　In fact, leaders of some countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, along the Belt and Road recently visited Hong Kong successively.　　This is evidence that Hong Kong is a link in Belt and Road construction.

　　Fourthly, Hong Kong's status as an offshore RMB business hub is underlined.　　As the Belt and Road construction speeds up, RMB's functions in trade settlement, investment and foreign reserve will be further upgraded.

　　Taking the opportunity of the Belt and Road construction, Hong Kong's financial industry is expected to move up a storey still higher.

　　16 May 2017