Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui on Monday said the government will not delay plans to start keeping the stock markets open during severe weather conditions.

His remark came after reports suggested the authorities could delay bringing in the change until the end of the year or early next year.

Speaking to reporters after attending the China Private Equity Summit, Hui said officials are sticking to the original timeline.

"Our timeline has not been changed, and it's been clear the whole time. That is, we'll announce relevant details of the implementation by the middle of this year when we publish the results of the public consultation on this regard,” Hui said.

“And when the markets are ready, we'll start implementing relevant arrangements.”

No date for the move has been set.

Earlier, Hui told participants at the summit that Hong Kong remains competitive when it comes to firms raising capital, and authorities will continue to attract leading enterprises from the mainland to list in the SAR.

Separately, Hui also said the SAR government will publish a policy statement regarding the development of artificial intelligence (AI) by the end of this year.

“AI is already being applied in various areas of banking, securities, insurance, accounting, retirement, protection and green finance in Hong Kong,” he said.

“The government will strive to capitalise on the opportunities brought by AI while also managing the risks and challenges.”