Hong Kong's finance services sector has to be more attentive to the Chinese mainland's investment needs to defend its status as an international finance center, the head of the city's monetary authority said Thursday.

Over the past 20 years, the mainland's robust economic development and growing demands for investment have had significant meaning for Hong Kong to stay as an international finance hub, said Joseph Yam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Up to the end of last year, a total of 335 mainland enterprises had been listed in Hong Kong, accounting for about 30 percent of the total number of companies listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., and 39 percent of the total market capitalization.

In the last year alone, the turnover of those mainland enterprises accounted for 46 percent of the total equity turnover of the Hong Kong stock market.

Mainland companies also raised about 180 billion HK dollars (23. 22 billion U.S. dollars) on the Hong Kong capital market, accounting for 60 percent of the market total last year.

However, with the mainland's financial reform gaining pace and capital market more globalized, Hong Kong's role as an international finance center is also facing with the risk of being "marginalized," said Yam.

Yam made the above remarks at a forum held Thursday in Hong Kong to discuss financial services cooperation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta region covering nine mainland provinces, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Yam, therefore, proposed a five-point development plan for the city's finance services sector. All the proposals are aimed at furthering financial services cooperation with the mainland so as to solidify Hong Kong's status as an international finance center.

The plan encourages Hong Kong financial institutions to go into the mainland to provide services, defines the city as a gateway for mainland funds to come out, asks financial instruments issued in Hong Kong to be available on the mainland market, pledges to enhance local financial system's capability to handle renminbi- denominated transactions, and calls on strengthened financial- infrastructure linkages between Hong Kong and the mainland.

Source: Xinhua