London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Hong Kong to retain international financial hub crown for ‘years, decades’, MSCI CEO says

Hong Kong to retain international financial hub crown for ‘years, decades’, MSCI CEO says

Demise, lowered relevance of Hong Kong have been forecast for years, but the city always reinvents itself, Henry Fernandez tells virtual conference. MSCI’s decision to move futures contracts to Hong Kong last month has sent HKEX shares to record high

Hong Kong will retain its status as an international financial centre despite being buffeted by months of anti-government protests and concerns among some international investors about a controversial national security law for the city, according to the top executive at index provider MSCI.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Invest Global conference on Wednesday, chief executive Henry Fernandez dismissed talk of Hong Kong losing its crown to Singapore or other cities in Asia, and said he believed “strongly” in the city as an international financial centre.

“I’ve been going to Hong Kong, China and the rest of Asia for over 40 years. I have heard this story before many times, as to the demise and the relevance of Hong Kong,” Fernandez said during the virtual conference. “It hasn’t happened. Every time, Hong Kong comes back stronger, more resilient and reinvents itself.”

The National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, said in May that it would draft a national security law for Hong Kong following months of street protests, prompting concerns the legislation could be used to restrict speech and assembly in the city. The move to sidestep the city’s legislature came after years of lawmakers failing to pass the legislation since Hong Kong’s handover from British control in 1997.

It has sparked an outcry from western governments, with the United States declaring that the city no longer maintained a “high degree of autonomy” and threatening to revoke its special trade and travel status.

Fernandez’s comments also came almost a month after Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said it would begin offering 37 futures and options contracts tied to MSCI’s Asia and emerging-markets focused indices, supplanting the index provider’s long-time partner, Singapore Exchange (SGX).

The news has sent HKEX’s stock to a record high of HK$320 over the past month. The bourse operator’s stock declined 0.69 per cent to close at HK$317.80 on Wednesday.

HKEX is expected to begin offering the first 10 of the contracts beginning in July, pending regulatory approval, according to a June 1 circular. The bulk of the 37 futures contracts are expected to be available in Hong Kong by mid-August.

SGX will no longer host more than two dozen MSCI futures products beginning in February, and warned its 2021 profit might drop by up to 15 per cent as a result. MSCI will continue to partner with SGX on Singapore Index products.

Fernandez said Hong Kong offered a large customer base of international, regional and Chinese investors, as well as a deep pool of liquidity. “Hong Kong is a great financial centre and will continue to prosper, for sure, for years and decades to come,” he said.

He also said MSCI does not pursue exclusives with its partners, but also did not want to pit its partners against each other. “With this licensing, it had to be Hong Kong or Singapore,” Fernandez said.

At the same time, the number of investors asking about the potential for A-shares futures in Hong Kong has “increased dramatically” since the agreement with HKEX was announced.

“The conditions are getting better to get that approval from mainland China,” Fernandez said. “We believe that China now has a very strong interest in supporting and encouraging the development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre. That could potentially be a good window for us to be able to launch that contract.”




Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×