GBA has edge over San Francisco in finance: FS
Hong Kong's status as an international financial hub has provided a "competitive advantage" to the Greater Bay Area in financial services over its counterpart in San Francisco, according to the financial chief.  One distinctive feature of the SAR, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a media interview, was the opportunity for companies to list on the city's stock exchange.  "We have Hong Kong, in the Greater Bay Area, being an international financial centre. We can marry both technological innovation and financial services to prosper. And this is the distinction between Hong Kong and San Francisco," he said.  "When you want to develop and grow the innovation and technology sector, you need a lot of capital... But also you need to have an [international financial centre], a listing platform." Despite that, Chan said there were similarities between the two bay areas in southern China and California, with the two being "economic powerhouses".  On foreign investment to the Greater Bay Area, the financial chief said the SAR remained attractive and competitive amid the current geopolitical situation. "Given this geopolitical tension, the capital market would be more volatile. Certain funding, say for example, funding from the US, may reduce their allocation to this part of the world," he said.  "But in our engagement with the investing sector in the US, they are still very keen in the Greater Bay Area and the development of China, because they believe this is the growing future. And using the Greater Bay Area is not just for the Chinese market, but also for the Asia market as a whole." Chan said local authorities were working hard to reach out to the international community and host mega events to clear up misunderstandings about the city, while also bringing about more than HK$10 billion into the economy.  The financial chief also said the number of arrivals this year had risen thanks to the expansion of the solo travel scheme, allowing mainland residents to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis instead of in tour groups.  Combined with a rise in consumption, hopes of lower interest rates in the near future, and the resumption of international flights, Hong Kong's economy is estimated to grow between 2.5 and 3.5 percent, he added.  On the city's property prices, which plunged by almost a quarter from its historic high in September 2021 to February this year, Chan said it's normal for housing costs to adjust amid high interest rates.  He pointed out that both home prices and the number of transactions had risen after the government scrapped all property-cooling measures in February.