The chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Tim Lui, has brushed aside claims that Hong Kong is no longer an international financial hub, saying the SAR is still highly attractive to investors.

On the sidelines of the “two sessions” in Beijing, Lui said he is aware of comments that Hong Kong's financial centre is in "ruins", but he believes the sector has a very bright future.

“Our capital market, stock market, in line with the global situation, hasn't been performing well. But if you look at our other elements of the financial industry, Hong Kong is doing exceedingly well, in asset management, in insurance, in banking, in bonds,” he said.

“So it's just a matter of time when the capital market will pick up again, in particular the number of IPOs that will come back to Hong Kong as a capital raising venue. When that happens, I think a lot of these comments will naturally go away.”

Lui noted that Article 23 national security legislation will soon be enacted, adding that a more stable environment will create better investment opportunities for investors.

The SFC chairman said he expects the government to put more effort into reviving the economy once the legislation is passed, with more to be done to boost the confidence of investors.

“We are the bridge between the so-called international capital and the China market, so I think we have to continue to build on this, as well as in terms of the Hong Kong market itself, improve our liquidity, improve the product offerings, secure more IPO listings so that we regain a very high spot internationally in terms of capital raising venue,” he said.

“We are also very keen on attracting new sources of capital into Hong Kong, from Asean countries, as well as Middle East countries. So all these efforts, together with our very buoyant market in other sectors of our financial market, will boost wealth for our future.”