Hong Kong and Luxembourg have moved to enhance collaboration as international financial centres in various areas of mutual interests and increase synergy between them.

Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) and Luxembourg for Finance (LFF) on Monday (April 17) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which provides a framework to facilitate the collaboration.

“The signing of this MOU marks another important step in our efforts to promote the development of the financial services industry in Hong Kong, as well as forging a strong partnership between Hong Kong and Luxembourg,” says FSDC chairma Laurence Li SC. “We believe that this cooperation will bring new opportunities for both centres in terms of talent attraction, sustainable finance, and fintech, among others.”

Nicolas Mackel, chief executive officer of LFF, adds: “This MOU will allow us to further strengthen our relationship and deepen our cooperation in multiple fields, such as expertise development, market promotion activities, and exchange of information on market trends and regulatory developments.”

Both the FSDC and LFF are members of the World Alliance of International Financial Centres (WAIFC). Since joining the WAIFC in October 2019, the FSDC has been striving to keep fellow members informed of the development of Hong Kong’s financial services industry.

The FSDC was established in 2013 by the Hong Kong special administrative region government as a high-level, cross-sectoral advisory body to promote the further development of the city’s financial services industry.

The LFF is a public-private partnership between the Luxembourg government and the Luxembourg Financial Industry Federation, bringing together the various financial industry associations. It connects international investors to the range of financial services in the country.