Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Frederick Ma will visit the US and Canada at the end of April to promote the development of Hong Kong's financial services.

During his visit to New York, he will speak at a luncheon hosted by the Committee of 100, which has also invited US Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson to speak. Mr Ma will take the opportunity to exchange views with him on the successful ingredients of building a world-class financial centre and draw on the US experience.

In an article posted on the bureau's website today, Mr Ma said although Hong Kong's competitiveness as an international financial centre was recognised by London and New York, Hong Kong cannot afford to be complacent.

Financial centre's role

"In the past three years, Hong Kong surpassed Tokyo and ranked first in Asia in terms of IPO funds raised; and our market capitalisation overtook Germany to rank seventh in the world last year.

"Yet, we must always remember the motto 'One loses by pride and gains by modesty'. There is still a lot that Hong Kong can draw from the experiences of New York and London in financial services."