Speech by FS at LME Asia Metals Seminar 2026 (English only)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the LME Asia Metals Seminar 2026 today (May 7):
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Carlson (Chairman of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), Mr Carlson Tong), Bonnie (Chief Executive Officer of the HKEX, Ms Bonnie Chan), Matthew (Chief Executive Officer of the London Metal Exchange (LME), Mr Matthew Chamberlain), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good morning.      
Hong Kong’s strategic position      
     Our country’s 15th Five-Year Plan, for the first time, explicitly supports Hong Kong to build a commodity trading ecosystem. This is a mandate that Hong Kong can – and should – become: a commodity trading hub that connects the Chinese Mainland and regional supply chains with the international market.        
What we are building      
     First, building a full financial lifecycle for metals. Our ambition is for Hong Kong to be a place where every major financial need of a commodity business can be satisfied: from commodity-backed finance and derivatives, to marine and trade insurance, as well as sustainability-linked instruments.