HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 27 February 2026 - In his 2026-27 Budget announced on Wednesday (25 February), Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) outlined areas for comprehensively reinforcing the city's position as a leading international financial hub. Despite the complex and ever-changing external environment, Mr Chan noted that Hong Kong's financial market had performed strongly and the city's financial system remains robust. HKSAR’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan (second left), outlines areas for comprehensively reinforcing the city’s position as a leading international financial hub In 2025, Hong Kong ranked first globally for funds raised through initial public offerings. "We will continue to consolidate our existing strengths, tap into emerging fields, strengthen market systems and risk control and deepen financial co-operation in the Greater Bay Area," Mr Chan said. "By doing so, we will enhance Hong Kong's role as an international financial centre on all fronts and contribute to the national strategic goal of 'accelerating China's development as a financial powerhouse' ". With Hong Kong being the world's largest hub for offshore Renminbi (RMB) business, the Financial Secretary said the city would leverage its unique strengths and proactively align with national development strategies. For advancing the internationalisation of the RMB, Mr Chan said Hong Kong would facilitate the wider use of RMB in activities such as trade and cross-boundary business; reduce transaction costs; enrich product offerings in the offshore RMB market; improve price discovery in the short-to-medium-term-interest-rate market; and attract high-quality issuers to increase RMB bond issuance in Hong Kong. In 2025, the stock market delivered a stellar performance. The Hang Seng Index rose by 28 per cent over the year. The daily turnover surged by 90 per cent to a historic high of close to $250 billion (US$32 billion). Mr Chan