Year of the Dragon good for stock market: Paul Chan
Financial chief Paul Chan on Wednesday painted a rosy picture of the stock market on the first trading day after the Lunar New Year holiday. Speaking at the bourse operator's opening ceremony, Chan said previous years of the dragon, or loong, had proved to be good for the stock market and there is reason for optimism for this year as well. "The past four Years of the Loong were rewarding for Hong Kong stocks. In 2012, the Hang Seng Index rose 15 percent thanks to the easing of monetary policies by the major central banks in the world, and better investor mood," he said. "There may be some things in common with this year of the dragon. The market generally believes that interest rates in Europe and the United States have peaked and will gradually fall back. Also the economy on the mainland is stabilising and improving. These are good for investor sentiment and the asset market." Chan said he is "cautiously optimistic" about the city's prospects. He said Hong Kong is set to grow as a "super connector" as many enterprises feel a need to explore the Asian market and set up headquarters in the region due to the geopolitical situation and changes in the global supply chain. Meanwhile, outgoing chairwoman of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Laura Cha brushed aside pessimistic remarks that the city is "over". Cha said while Hong Kong is facing external challenges, the city's strengths that have made it an international financial centre have not changed and the SAR is enhancing its competitiveness as a market. "Let me just say that in the past decades, there have been from time to time predictions that Hong Kong has come to its end. We have every time proven them wrong. Whatever the situation, however unfavourable the conditions, external conditions are, Hong Kong has always been able to come back and reach new heights," she said. Nicolas Aguzin, who is stepping down as the bourse operator's CEO in May, also said he is very confident that Hong Kong will continue to thrive as an international financial hub in the long term.