In a fragmenting world where the old financial order is being renegotiated, the greater prize goes to those who help set the new standards
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenJun Yu ChanJun Yu (JY) Chan is a partner at Wings Capital Ventures, where he invests in early-stage fintech and AI startups across Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Published: 5:30am, 26 Apr 2026Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently said the city could rise to become the world’s No 2 financial centre in 10-15 years. That is the right kind of ambition. In a world being reshaped by geopolitical fragmentation, China’s growing global weight and rapid technological change, Hong Kong must think beyond remaining internationally competitive to exercising global leadership.But ambition alone is not enough. Hong Kong has spent decades proving it can operate at the world’s highest standards, in financial regulation, legal infrastructure and institutional quality. Its next test is harder. To become the world’s No 2 financial centre and lead where finance, technology and geopolitics intersect, Hong Kong must become a rule maker. And the window is now, before others fill the space.
Closing that gap, however, will not come from doing more of the same. It will come from leading in domains where the rules have yet to be written.
As China’s global weight grows and its leadership among Global South economies deepens, Hong Kong’s role at this intersection does not merely reflect China’s rise – it amplifies its own irreplaceable value to the world.
