Hong Kong’s Creative Pitch

Hong Kong finance chief Paul Chan said on April 22 that exchanges across Asia and Oceania should align more closely to pull more international capital into the city. (english.news.cn) Chan made the case in Hong Kong this week as he pushed the city as a platform for cross-border finance, saying a more coordinated regional market would be more attractive to global investors. Xinhua identified him as the financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. (english.news.cn) The pitch fits a broader 2026 message from Chan. At the Hong Kong Web3 Festival on April 20, he said the city was linking finance with digital assets, payments, and new forms of commerce as it tried to widen its role beyond traditional banking and stock listings. (info.gov.hk) Hong Kong is making that argument while leaning on industries that depend on mobile capital and wealthy international buyers. On March 25, Chan told the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit that families looking to preserve wealth wanted legal clarity, institutional strength, and access to mainland China through Hong Kong. (english.news.cn) That matters for the city’s art and luxury trade because those businesses run on the same flows of money, visitors, and cross-border trust. Art Basel Hong Kong said its 2026 fair drew 240 galleries from 41 countries and territories, with more than half from Asia-Pacific. (artbasel.com) Art Basel said the March 27-29 fair closed with strong sales across market segments and broad attendance from collectors, museums, and cultural leaders, reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as a meeting point for buyers across Asia. The fair’s preview days were held on March 25 and 26 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. (artbasel.com) The same event also highlighted digital-era collecting. Art Basel said its Zero 10 initiative, focused on art of the digital era, made its Hong Kong debut in 2026 and drew crowds from the opening hours. (artbasel.com) Hong Kong’s government has been pairing that cultural traffic with a finance-first growth plan. In his 2025-26 budget, Chan said the city would keep building what officials call “three centers and a hub,” a formula that includes finance, trade, and a push to attract new business activity. (english.news.cn) He has repeated the same line through a volatile spring. On April 5, Chan said Hong Kong had active first-quarter stock trading, strong initial public offering activity, and signs of improvement in the real economy despite a market correction. (english.news.cn) The immediate test is whether Hong Kong can turn that regional alignment pitch into deeper trading links and steadier investor traffic. If it does, the benefits would not stop at the exchange: they would also reach the fairs, galleries, auction rooms, and luxury businesses that rely on the same global money. (english.news.cn)