A view of Hong Kong Photo: VCG

Hong Kong's competitiveness lies in "connecting the Chinese mainland with the world", said Laura Cha, chairman of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), at the China Development Forum during the weekend.

"I was often asked what is Hong Kong's competitiveness and opportunity in the future. The answer is very simple, to integrate into the overall development of the country and continue to do a good job of connecting the mainland and the world," Cha said.

Amid fierce competition among major international financial centers, Hong Kong has two points that have not changed — a high level of internationalization and the advantage of connecting the mainland with the world, which offer a good example of how Hong Kong and the mainland can achieve mutual success and create win-win results, Cha noted.

While Hong Kong's internationalization is what defines Hong Kong's status as an international financial hub, its unique advantage of bridging the mainland and the world makes it stand out from other international financial centers, experts said.

Sitting adjacent to the mainland, Hong Kong has broader prospects and better market stability than other financial hubs, Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute of the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Hong Kong is also mulling reforms to deepen its integration with the Chinese mainland.

Hong Kong will officially launch a new listing mechanism for specialized technology companies on Friday, a move that experts said will support more mainland companies in innovative fields to go public in Hong Kong.

The mechanism lowers the listing threshold and allows technology companies with no revenue or profit record to list at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Securities Times reported. 

Hong Kong is also set to launch a Hong Kong dollar-yuan dual counter model that will allow investors to seamlessly interchange between securities listed in both currencies.

The new program will offer investors more choices, greater flexibility and the opportunity to tap into new liquidity pools and strengthen Hong Kong's position as a premium offshore yuan hub and support the internationalization of the yuan, experts said.

Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Sunday that expanding financial cooperation with the mainland's markets will be mutually beneficial for both Hong Kong and the mainland.

"Some of the mainland's external financial activities often need to be completed through a 'gateway' like Hong Kong. Hong Kong's financial development will also be boosted by the trading of various yuan derivatives," Xi said.

In the past three decades, mainland companies achieved rapid development in Hong Kong's capital market. In 1993, there were only 40 mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, but now there are more than 1,500. Its share of the market has soared from 5 percent to 77 percent.

Cha said during the forum that the HKEX will further integrate into the country's overall development and enhance Hong Kong's international competitiveness.

Efforts will be taken to optimize the listing mechanism, advance the development of swap connect programs, expand yuan investment products and develop carbon markets and other environmental, social and governance products, Cha said.