It’s the result of enhancing our own – and the banks’ – operational resilience and business continuity plans. It’s the result of communicating effectively with stakeholders to maintain confidence in the financial system. 16. So this quality of resilience is the product of a long term investment in the many factors that make our system strong. Abundance of opportunities 17. The second quality of an international financial centre that I want to talk about is its ability to generate opportunities for investors. Advanced financial centres like Hong Kong compete fiercely with each other. We succeed by offering investors opportunities so that they can succeed. That means we need to keep innovating, exploring new frontiers and developing our value proposition. 18. Hong Kong’s advantages in offering opportunities to global investors is mainly down to three macro trends. I believe these will provide the impetus for us to continue growing and outperforming. 19. First of all, financial liberalisation on the Mainland creates enormous opportunities for Hong Kong. We have always been the dominant financial gateway between the Mainland and the rest of the world. Today, more than half of international investors’ stock and bond investments on the Mainland are made through Hong Kong. We have also announced a pilot scheme for Wealth Management Connect and have other initiatives under development in the Greater Bay Area. 20.
In both dimensions, I believe this kind of long-term approach is the hallmark of a high-quality financial system. Concluding remarks 27. I hope these reflections have shed some light on Hong Kong’s distinctive qualities as an international financial centre. It is resilient – our institutions and markets remain safe and sound in good times and bad. And it offers huge opportunities to local and global participants, driven by the Mainland’s continued financial liberalisation, as well as developments in fintech and green finance. 28. My team and I are committed to upholding these qualities. We will continue to reinforce Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre of the highest quality. This journey has no end – and we will rely as always on strong support from everyone that we work with, including many of you. I am confident that, by working together, we can continue to build on Hong Kong’s unique foundation – and enhance our position as one of the world’s pre3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  eminent financial centres. 29. It only remains for me to thank the Hong Kong Management Association for having me here tonight; to thank you all for your attention; and to congratulate the winners of the Quality Award – your achievements are rightly honoured today. 4/4  BIS central bankers' speeches