The role of professional services in strengthening Hong Kong as an international financial centre

While Hong Kong is firmly established as one of the world’s pre-eminent international financial centres, faced with geopolitical shifts and economic uncertainties, the Special Administrative Region (SAR) is seeking new ways to leverage its internationally focused pro-business environment to reach new growth horizons.

Brought together by ACCA Hong Kong, a diverse group of representatives from the accounting, audit, tax, advisory, legal, mediation, healthcare/insurance and engineering sectors, along with Ayla Majid, global president of ACCA, participated in a roundtable discussion in November, which focused on the role of professional services as a catalyst of economic and client growth while enhancing Hong Kong’s status as an international finance centre.

To corral the extensive amount of knowledge and experience Hong Kong’s professional services sector offers – noting how the roundtable discussion aligned with Majid’s vision of ‘a new future for accountancy with a strategic lens and a stakeholder approach’ – and taking a wide-lens view, she suggested placing the focus on developing a collaborative Hong Kong professional excellence ecosystem. ‘Whether it’s working with industry, policymakers or investors, professional services build trust while providing a bridge and connection between various stakeholders,’ she noted.