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Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is planning to open an office in Saudi Arabia next year to strengthen its presence in the region while enhancing the city's role in bridging financial markets in mainland China and the Middle East.
The new office in the capital Riyadh will provide on-ground support to regional investors, giving them access to Hong Kong's financial products and "opportunities arising from megatrends that define Asia's growth story", the bourse operator said in a statement on Wednesday.
HKEX already has offices in Beijing, London, New York, Shanghai, and Singapore.
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The Riyadh office will start operating in the first half of next year, HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting said, adding that it was the result of two years of discussions with local officials and marketing promotions.
"After we open this new office, our local staff in Riyadh can provide information to companies that may want to list in Hong Kong," Chan said at a media briefing after attending the listing ceremony of the first ETF tracking Hong Kong stocks on the Saudi Stock Exchange.
Chan said the London Metal Exchange, a wholly owned subsidiary of HKEX, on Wednesday added two new delivery points for copper and zinc in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The HKEX has finished a feasibility study on warehouse operators setting up metals warehouses in Hong Kong, she added.
She said the office will mark HKEX's "first step in elevating our presence across this vibrant and fast-growing region" and "underscores our strategic commitment to promoting greater capital market connections between China and the Middle East."
CEO Chan speaks at a press conference on HKEX's interim result in Central in August 2024. Photo: Xiaomei Chen alt=CEO Chan speaks at a press conference on HKEX's interim result in Central in August 2024. Photo: Xiaomei Chen>
This also underpins efforts over the past 12 months to strengthen China's ties with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Frayed relations and trade spats with the US have prompted Beijing and Hong Kong to turn to the Middle East for trade and investment.
The city's bourse operator has made "significant progress" in engagements, including a collaboration with the Saudi Tadawul Group to welcome the world's biggest Saudi-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF). HKEX also added Saudi Exchange, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market as recognised bourses, enabling companies on these exchanges to seek a secondary listing in Hong Kong.