Mainland platform

GE Capital and Global Growth & Operations managing director Vincent Liu told the summit: "Hong Kong is the platform for overseas firms to enter the mainland market, while it is also the platform for mainland enterprises to embark on overseas expansion. The city has the unique advantage to help companies to expand their business."

He also noted: "As the central government strives to promote Hong Kong as the offshore yuan financing center, the city needs to attract more multinational companies to issue yuan-denominated bonds to enable corporations to tap more liquidity access. Adequate liquidity is very important in treasury activities management."

"As the mainland still exercises capital control, Hong Kong is the place for mainland corporations to set up their treasury functions," International Association of CFOs and Corporate Treasurers (China) founding chairman Peter Wong reckoned.

"As the leading offshore RMB center, Hong Kong has a window to reestablish ourselves as the Asian corporate treasury hub. Hong Kong should reach out and attract companies looking to conduct business on the mainland or gain exposure to mainlandrelated yuan (financing business) growth, which include companies from the mainland and around the world," the government's top financial advisory body, the Financial Services Development Council, said.

Besides the mainland factor, Hong Kong has other strong attributes it can lever on to develop the city as a corporate treasury center.

"Hong Kong has the right location that is close to the world's second-largest economy. The city also has the right time-zone that aligns with all Asian countries in the same trading hours, and with European countries in some trading hours that can facilitate more treasury transactions." CLP Holdings Group treasury director Francis Ho said.

Wong agreed with Ho, saying: "Hong Kong's strengths as a treasury management hub lie in three aspects - its geo-political reliability that can provide safe-haven protection for financial assets; its high technical back-service standards in conducting financial transaction activities; and its lower cost involved in treasury functions compared to other financial centers in major developed economies."

"Hong Kong also has a higher density of mainland and international banks than other major financial centers," Wong added. "Global economic activities are shifting from Europe to Asia and more corporate merger and acquisition restructuring activities in the Asian region also boost demand for financial treasury activities."

However, Hong Kong cannot be complacent as many market hurdles are still blocking the path towards cementing Hong Kong as a major treasury market center.

"Hong Kong has a shortage of treasury market professionals. In Hong Kong, most of the treasury market practitioners do not possess professional qualifications. Instead, they usually get promoted to the top treasury job based on their accounting or business experience. If we want to beef up in promoting the treasury profession, we should cultivate the right talent pool to foster industry development," Ho cautioned.

Hui warned that air pollution and the scarcity of international schools are causing a shortage of expert treasury professionals. Moreover, Hong Kong's high living and office rental costs are crimping the city's development as a treasury management center.