Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Wednesday said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East was having a "minimal impact" on Hong Kong for now, and the government was committed to deepening ties with the Gulf region despite geopolitical risks.

The remarks came as he joined a dialogue session at the Bloomberg Family Office Summit in Admiralty.

Earlier in February, Chan noted in his budget speech that the city's underlying consumer price inflation should "remain mild" this year and rise by 1.7 percent year on year.

When asked if the latest energy price spikes might affect the government's inflationary targets going forward, Chan noted that it would be better to assess the situation in the coming months.

"Given the recent conflict in the Middle East, depending on how long it will drag on, unavoidably, fuel costs will increase, and it will be translated into different sectors of the economy," he told event participants.

"We are still assessing the situation. At the moment in terms of short-term impact, [it] would be very minimal.

"I think we would be able to better assess the situation in April or May, when things are more settled," he added.

The finance minister also reiterated the government's stance to strengthening collaboration with the Middle East, noting "ambitious plans" from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf region, such as Qatar, that are ramping up investments into non-oil sectors, including infrastructure, technology, as well as innovation.

He also cited the example of the planned US$1 billion co-investment fund between the SAR and the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia that would help more Hong Kong and firms from the Greater Bay Area expand into the Middle Eastern country.

"Hong Kong, basically, we are not just a 'super connector', we are 'super value-adder'.

"The idea is not just from the past attracting capital and talent to this part of the world and to the mainland, but now a two-way platform.

"We're hand holding [with] our mainland companies, with our professional services and the Hong Kong companies to team up, go aboard to tap the opportunities," he said.

"[So for the trips to the Middle East], it'll be rescheduled, but the commitment won't be changed."

Chan also noted the government would work to ensure there would be a continuous supply of "quality" companies coming to list in the SAR, after the city was crowned as the world's top initial public offering (IPO) venue last year, with "huge" capital inflows.

While 35 percent of the capital flows came from the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asean, about 25 percent was from mainland southbound investors, and another 15 to 18 percent came from local players, he added.

"We want to diversify ourselves in terms of issuers, in terms of investments. Last year, capital from the Middle East, and from the Asean region was also flowing in."
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Last updated: 2026-03-25 HKT 17:25


Edited by Tony Sabine