Hong Kong and Switzerland moved to deepen their ties on taxes and other financial matters after a top-level visit to the Swiss capital. The move underscores Asia's importance to the alpine nation – as well as the other way around.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Swiss finance minister Ueli Maurer met in Bern, Switzerland on Tuesday, in a bid to strengthen ties between the two, the two said in a statement. Switzerland has strong historical ties to Singapore and its finance center in particular, but is also vying to be China's preferred European partner, as a top Swiss diplomat told finews.com last year.
Lam and Maurer discussed cooperating in financial markets and exchanged views on tax and international finance. Both Hong Kong's and Switzerland's banking sectors have had to face international data-sharing agreements coordinated by the OECD, or Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The two also agreed last year to swap data with each other, beginning next year.
China's liberalization is of intense interest to Bern, for financial as well as political reasons – the two have had diplomatic relations since 1950, and Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Bern for four days last year.
Private Sector Pact
This week's visit seems to be continuation of those ties: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority signed a pact with its Swiss government counterpart, while Swiss regulator Finma also inked an agreement with HKMA.
Separately, Hong Kong's private banking lobby signed its own agreement with the Swiss Bankers Association. «Being small jurisdictions with internationally interconnected financial centres, Hong Kong and Switzerland share particularities, such as having bridging roles between important markets such as China or the European Union,» the two said in a statement.
HKMA, the Swiss government, Finma and Switzerland's central bank hosted the talks.
