File photo of Charles Li Xiaojia. Photo: CFP

Charles Li Xiaojia, head of Hong Kong's stock exchange operator, said on Monday that he has full confidence in Hong Kong's future, adding that Hong Kong has a big role to play in integrating a rapidly developing China with the world. 

Hong Kong's position is clear, to allow "the circle of the world and the circle of China to slowly overlap", but not necessarily completely, because many things in the international market cannot be completely copied on the mainland market. If these two circles need to be integrated, Hong Kong will play a unique role in the integration, Li said. 

Li's remark was made during an online media conference on Monday as he is due to step down from the Exchange at end of the year, before his contract expires.

"I have no doubts about the future of Hong Kong. It is not blind optimism. Hong Kong's competitiveness will always be there", he said at the meeting on Monday. 

"I will not leave Hong Kong. What I want to do in the future will be only in Hong Kong. It's not time to say goodbye yet", he said. 

Li announced in May that he will not renew his contract when it expires in October 2021 and that he might leave earlier if the stock exchange finds his successor.

Li is best known as the architect of the "Connect" program -- investment channels between HK and Chinese mainland that allow global investors to tap China's yuan-denominated A shares and bonds, while letting mainland-based institutions and individuals invest in shares and financial instruments listed in Hong Kong, according to scmp.com. 

More recently, Li spearheaded the biggest reform of Hong Kong's listing regulations in three decades, when the exchange opened its doors in 2018 to companies with dual-class share-holdings to raise capital. That paved the way for Alibaba Group to launch a $12.9 billion secondary listing in Hong Kong last November.

Global Times