Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Frederick Ma has hailed Hong Kong's exchanges, saying they have gained confidence from both local and overseas investors. However, he said Hong Kong must continue efforts in boosting market quality and investor confidence.

Speaking at the World Federation of Exchanges Forum for Developing Markets in Beijing today, Mr Ma said Hong Kong has a three-tiered structure for the regulation of the securities and futures industry - the Government, the Securities & Futures Commission as the statutory regulator, and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing as a market operator and frontline regulator.

He said the Government's policy is to maintain and further upgrade financial market quality to protect investor interest and strengthen confidence.

World-class framework

"To this end, we have made tremendous efforts to establish a world-class regulatory framework and foster strong corporate governance," Mr Ma said, adding public confidence in the statutory regulator's ability to promote an orderly market and monitor exchanges depends not only on the strength of its "regulatory teeth", but also the transparency and accountability of the regulator.

On top of the three-tiered regulatory structure, Mr Ma said the work of other law enforcement agencies, including the Police, has added credibility to Hong Kong's regime.

"Certainly, we cannot be complacent and must keep up our efforts in enhancing our market quality and strengthening investor confidence in our exchanges."

Mr Ma also met with Mainland officials, including People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, National Social Security Fund Chairman Xiang Huaicheng, Vice Minister of Finance Lou Jiwei, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange Administrator Hu Xiaolian.