A snapshot of Hong Kong Photo: VCG

The Financial Mega Event Week kicked off in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday, with a series of top-tier international conferences and exhibitions taking place, creating enormous business opportunities from the mega event economy and showcasing the city's glamour and vitality to the world.

Analysts said that the implementation of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance will make multinationals and international investors further see the value of Hong Kong as a safe and reliable business center and be willing to invest more in the international financial center.

During the Financial Mega Event Week, world-class summits including the second Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit, a top-level exclusive event for global family offices; the One Earth Summit; the Global Investors' Symposium, and the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit will be held, according to the HKSAR government.

"Hong Kong is the only city in the world that enjoys both the China advantage and the global advantage," HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee said in a speech at the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit on Monday, attributing this to the unique "One Country, Two Systems" principle.

The HKSAR government attaches great importance to propelling Hong Kong's rise as a cultural hub, Lee said.

The financial and business communities recognize that a stable and safe social environment is important for investing and operating in Hong Kong, HKSAR Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po wrote in his blog on Sunday.

"The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance took effect on Saturday, which fulfilled our constitutional responsibility of enacting local legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law and further cementing mechanisms for the HKSAR to safeguard national security," Chan said.

Chan called for efforts by the whole city to focus on economic growth and residents' well-being so as to build a better future for the city.

InvestHK, a government department of the HKSAR, had helped 58 family offices to set up in Hong Kong or expand their businesses as of the end of February, while more than 100 other family offices plan to set up or expand their operations, according to Chan.

The implementation of legislation for safeguarding national security under Article 23 of the Basic Law makes Hong Kong more attractive for more foreign investment, Liang Haiming, chairman of the China Silk Road iValley Research Institute, told the Global Times.

Companies and investors will see the value of Hong Kong as a safe and reliable business center and be willing to invest in the city. This will bring huge economic opportunities to Hong Kong and promote job growth and wealth accumulation, he said.

"The implementation of legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law will also strengthen economic cooperation between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. The central government will support Hong Kong with greater efforts, providing more development opportunities and policy support, further deepening the close ties between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, helping the city seize the vast opportunities brought by national development and achieving mutual economic benefit," Liang said.

In January, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and the financial authority of the HKSAR jointly rolled out six measures focused on financial cooperation in a bid to promote the country's financial opening-up while consolidating Hong Kong's role as an international financial center.

Following the move, international banks including Standard Chartered and HSBC rolled out more products related to the Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), underscoring their confidence in Hong Kong.

The volume of funds remitted by investors in the GBA through the Southbound part of the connect program grew by five-fold year-on-year in 2023, greatly contributing to Standard Chartered's business growth in the GBA, according to Lin Yuandong, Standard Chartered's head of operations for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect is of significance for boosting the connectivity of financial markets in the GBA as well as the two-way opening-up of the mainland financial market, Lin was quoted as saying in a press release sent to the Global Times.

As an international financial hub, Hong Kong can give play to its unique advantages to attract more international capital and multinationals while strengthening cooperation with other financial centers in a bid to expand its international financial businesses and influence, Noel Shih, chairman of the Young Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and district councilor in Hong Kong, told the Global Times.

"The development of the GBA offers a larger market and opportunities for Hong Kong," Shih said, noting that Hong Kong should provide more policies to integrate with national development to cement its status as an international financial center and gain more opportunities.