Hong Kong's finance chief Paul Chan on Wednesday said the city could offer cutting-edge digital technologies for countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while providing innovative financial instruments to aid the global green transition.

He made the remarks in a speech at a luncheon during the 10th edition of the Belt and Road Summit at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.

Chan noted that Hong Kong was fostering more partnerships by leveraging two key global trends: green and sustainable development, and digital innovation.

He said the city could utilise its unique advantage linking the mainland with the world to offer BRI countries emerging digital solutions powered by artificial intelligence, ranging from fintech and smart health, to cloud computing, 6G, and digital city management.

"Solutions that succeed here carry a global seal of approval. Hong Kong is a trusted test bed for Chinese tech applications going global and vice versa," he said.

"For Belt and Road economies and the Global South, Hong Kong offers not only access to cutting-edge technologies, but also the assurance that they are fully aligned with the best international standards and practices," he added.

Separately, Chan noted the city could play a pivotal role in the global green and energy transition.

He said Hong Kong is already a regional leader in terms of mobilising green funds, after issuing more than US$80 billion in sustainable debt last year, with green bond issuance rising by 15 percent year on year in the first half of this year at over US$34 billion.

"As an international financial centre, Hong Kong is [also] deploying innovative financial instruments to address the diverse financing needs of emerging economies," he said, pointing to the city's issuance of the so-called "Catastrophe (CAT) bonds", a special type of debt to raise money in the event of a natural disaster.

"Since 2021, seven CAT bonds have been issued in Hong Kong, totalling US$800 million, supporting countries across Asia and the Americas in sharing risks arising from typhoons and earthquakes with climate investors," he noted.

Green technologies were also being developed rapidly, with over 250 green tech firms operating at Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport, offering solutions in areas such as carbon capture, EV infrastructure, and sustainable building materials, Chan added.