Development Focus

The Outline Development Plan supports consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as international financial centre, strengthen its status as a global offshore Renminbi (RMB) business hub and its role as an international asset management centre and a risk management centre, promote the development of high-end and high value-added financial, commercial and trading, logistics and professional services, etc.

To strengthen Hong Kong's status as a global offshore RMB business hub

• To progressively expand the scale and scope of the cross-boundary use of RMB in the Greater Bay Area.
• Banking institutions in the Greater Bay Area may launch, in accordance with relevant regulations, cross-boundary RMB interbank lending, RMB foreign exchange spot and forward businesses, related RMB derivative products and cross distribution of wealth management products.
• Enterprises in the Greater Bay Area may issue cross-boundary RMB bonds in accordance with relevant regulations.

• Hong Kong's institutional investors to raise RMB funds in accordance with the relevant regulations in the Greater Bay Area for investment in the capital markets of Hong Kong, and in participating in the investment of domestic private equity funds and venture capital funds.
• Hong Kong to develop more offshore RMB investment products, including commodity and other risk management tools.

To promote mutual financial markets access in the Greater Bay Area

• To continue enhancing the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Bond Connect.
• To promote connections between electronic payment systems in the Greater Bay Area.
• To widen the scope for cross-boundary investment by Hong Kong and Mainland residents and institutions, and steadily expanding the channels for Mainland and Hong Kong residents to invest in financial products in each other's market.
• Subject to compliance with laws and regulations, to progressively promote cross-boundary transactions of financial products such as funds and insurance within the Greater Bay Area, continue expanding the types of investment products and investment channels, and establish a mechanism for mutual access to capital and products.

Insurance services

• Mainland and Hong Kong insurance institutions to develop cross-boundary RMB reinsurance business.
• Insurance institutions in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to jointly develop innovative cross-boundary motor vehicle and medical insurance products, and provide facilitation services for cross-boundary policy holders in areas such as underwriting, investigation and claims.

Establishment of institutions and liberalisation of businesses

• To support eligible Hong Kong banks and insurance institutions in setting up operations in Qianhai of Shenzhen, Nansha of Guangzhou, and Hengqin of Zhuhai.
• To implement the Agreements under CEPA with Hong Kong, take forward the implementation of special liberalisation measures for Hong Kong with respect to sectors including finance, etc., consider further lifting or relaxing investor restrictions on Hong Kong such as qualification requirements, percentage of shareholding, as well as market access, provide one-stop services in Guangdong to Hong Kong investors and related practitioners, and better implement liberalisation measures for Hong Kong within the CEPA framework.
• To enhance the level of investment facilitation. To consider introducing further liberalisation measures under the CEPA framework, and enable Hong Kong professionals and enterprises practising, investing and doing business on the Mainland to enjoy national treatment in more sectors.