GOV.cn  Tuesday, June 26, 2007 
 
 
Hong Kong is making every gesture to help divert the overflow of capital market on the Chinese mainland as senior officials of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government in Hong Kong Tuesday tried to attract the huge insurance funds from the mainland.

Speaking at a seminar on asset management of insurance funds held here Tuesday, Frederick Ma, secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of HKSAR government, said Hong Kong was an ideal investment platform for insurance funds from the mainland.

Ma said the insurance funds of the mainland, with an annual premium income exceeding 560 billion yuan (about 74 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006, reached an asset value of 1.97 trillion yuan (about 259 billion dollars) by the end of last year, representing a year-on-year increase of 29 percent.

How such a large amount of insurance income is invested to achieve the best returns under good risk management has become a major consideration for the long-term development of the insurance sector in the mainland.

Hong Kong can provide a full range of support services for the enormous insurance funds in the mainland with its large pool of professional talents possessing extensive knowledge and experience, Ma said.

Ma said Hong Kong has become an ideal conduit through which the investment of the mainland could be channeled to the international markets, citing Hong Kong's other advantages, such as a sophisticated financial infrastructure and regulatory regime, a competitive market as well as a globally interfaced financial system,

"We hope to be able to contribute to the long-term development of the insurance industry of the mainland by taking the advantages of Hong Kong's strengths as an international financial center," he added.