China’s trading crackdown seen boosting Hong Kong as official capital hub

China’s trading crackdown seen boosting Hong Kong as official capital hub Analysts at ‘Summer Davos’ gathering highlight pivot towards official cross-border connect schemes to intermediate domestic wealth ‘on China’s own terms’ China’s crackdown on cross-border securities trading could strengthen – rather than diminish – Hong Kong’s financial role, according to economists, as Beijing steers more capital through official channels and reinforces the city’s status as an offshore yuan hub. “I would argue that these moves make the importance of Hong Kong even bigger,” Diana Choyleva, founder and chief economist at Enodo Economics, said on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum’s annual “Summer Davos” meeting. Speaking during a panel discussion on the opening day of the three-day gathering, Choyleva said that the recent move was part of an ongoing multi-year effort to tighten illegal capital outflows from China. Authorities are “really making the point clear here, but simultaneously widening the connect schemes, allowing more capital to flow through Hong Kong”, she said. Choyleva noted that the city’s role was shifting from a conduit for foreign investment into mainland China to a hub where China’s domestic wealth is “intermediated on China’s own terms” with the rest of the world.