Hong Kong preferred base as Chinese SOEs consolidate overseas accounts in treasury hubs

China's central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are consolidating their overseas accounts into unified treasury hubs, with Hong Kong being the preferred location. This move is part of a broader effort to crack down on outflows of state cash and improve cash management, which had become fragmented due to decades of overseas expansion.

According to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac), central SOEs hold nearly 8 trillion yuan (US$1.1 trillion) in overseas assets across over 180 countries and regions.

The consolidation of overseas accounts is aimed at providing full visibility and tight control over cash management, foreign-exchange risk, and cross-border financing. This effort began in 2022, when authorities in mainland China pushed central SOEs to build treasury systems. A research director at Tsinghua University's Institute for Modern State-owned Enterprises, Zhou Lisha, noted that a coordinated approach would help central SOEs optimise assets, boost returns, and better manage geopolitical and operational risks.

Hong Kong's emergence as the preferred base for these treasury hubs was reported by the South China Morning Post. The city's suitability for this role was not further elaborated on in the reports.

Brief written by urgent.news from SCMP Business, South China Morning Post, Free Malaysia Today — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.