A woman walks past Exchange Square which houses the Hong Kong stock exchange in Hong Kong on April 27, 2022. (DALE DE LA REY / AFP)
Following last week’s rally, the benchmark Hang Seng Index jumped more than 400 points on Monday to close at 16,595.9 points as Hong Kong’s financial leaders confirmed the resilient nature of the special administrative region’s economic recovery.
The Hang Seng Tech Index closed higher by nearly 4 percent, with the leading global artificial intelligence company SenseTime surging more than 35 percent, the best performance in the science index components. Smartphone maker Xiaomi rose more than 5 percent, internet-based services platform Meituan and technology giant Tencent increased by 2.34 percent and 2.85 percent respectively.
Domestic housing and property management stocks saw larger gains, with Country Garden rising 11 percent and being the best performer of the blue chips. In the financial service sector, heavyweight stocks AIA and HSBC rose more than 3 percent
Domestic housing and property management stocks saw larger gains, with Country Garden rising 11 percent and being the best performer of the blue chips. In the financial service sector, heavyweight stocks AIA and HSBC rose more than 3 percent. And Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd rose more than 5 percent.
After two days of rapid rallies, Hong Kong stocks have increased by more than 1,200 points.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic remains under control and external activities recover further, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said he expects a gradual strengthening in the momentum of economic recovery in Hong Kong.
The Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit held last week demonstrated Hong Kong’s unique strength. It was an attempt by the HKSAR to reclaim its status as an international financial center, Chan said.
He quoted participants as saying that the summit gave them a deeper understanding of Hong Kong’s unique strengths as an international financial center and showcased the city’s vitality and rich development opportunities.
The three-day summit was attended by more than 200 financial heads of 120 institutions from around the world, with more than a third of them represented by group chairs or CEOs.
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Chan described the summit as achieving its goal of “demonstrating to the world that Hong Kong is open and resilient”.
Writing in his blog on Sunday, the finance chief said, “The most urgent task for Hong Kong is to boost external investment and economic momentum, and attracting business and talent is exactly what the government is doing to promote it.” He added that the authorities would continue to strengthen support for Hong Kong’s infrastructure and would be well-positioned to seize more opportunities once the economy recovers.
However, he pointed out that the revenue outlook for the year is hardly promising, as the GDP growth for the third quarter of the year came in at minus 4.5 percent – the third consecutive quarter of year-on-year contraction.
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