The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, on Sunday said Hong Kong should not sell itself short against Singapore, because data showed the SAR had a clear advantage in many areas and this would lead to continued growth and development.

Writing on his blog, Chan noted that many people had been comparing the financial markets of Hong Kong and Singapore, but that some had been basing their standpoints on rather vague impressions.

To show Hong Kong's merits, Chan listed a number of figures. They included the size and transaction volumes of their respective stock markets, foreign exchange services, bond markets, green finance, and asset management.

“In the discussion on how we can strengthen our weaknesses, the figures let us have an objective understanding of Hong Kong’s real advantages,” he said.

“Hong Kong had been developing and growing amid competition. There is no need to sell ourselves short or avoid our shortcomings. We just have to be pragmatic, and introduce a targeted strategy, in order to enhance our financial market’s competitiveness,” Chan added.

Meanwhile, he also announced that next month's gathering of top finance professionals, organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), had received such an enthusiastic response that authorities have decided to host another forum on the next day.

Chan said many international financial institutions, not invited to the event on November 2, had written to enquire and some participants said the one-day meeting was not quite long enough.

He said the HKMA and the Hong Kong Academy of Finance had therefore decided to host a forum the following day on global investment.

Chan said a number of heavy-weight speakers from sectors such as fund-trading, infrastructure-financing, and hedge funds would share their views.

The financial chief said the event would also be live-streamed so more people could take part.