{
  "id": 16464024,
  "title": "Hong Kong seeks bigger role for yuan in regional trade, treasury chief says",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/hong-kong-seeks-bigger-role-for-yuan-in-regional-trade-treasury-chief",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-25T10:44:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3372073/hong-kong-seeks-bigger-role-yuan-regional-trade-treasury-chief-says"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hong Kong officials engaged in talks with finance ministers and representatives from countries like Brunei during the recent APEC meeting, as reported by the city's treasury chief. Speaking to the media, Christopher Hui Ching-yu highlighted the desire of delegates to internationalize the renminbi and use local currencies for bilateral trade settlements. Hui noted that Asean, which includes Brunei, has become Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner after mainland China, and that trade within Asia does not necessarily require the use of the US dollar. The city's treasury chief emphasized that Hong Kong's broader financial ecosystem could support the needs of these countries, including issuing offshore yuan bonds and accessing investment products in the currency. Strengthening Hong Kong's role in the internationalization of the yuan is a key focus in the city's five-year plan to 2030. Delegates at the APEC meeting even mentioned their plans to return to Hong Kong for their honeymoons. Hui framed Hong Kong's role at APEC as a facilitator of regional cooperation, complementing China's stabilizing role. Beyond currency ties, Hong Kong is positioning itself as a safe haven for physical assets, such as gold, to become a global bullion hub. The government has introduced a \"Gold Hotline\" regulatory fast track to expedite approvals for international gold refineries and storage providers.",
  "summary": "Hong Kong officials held discussions with finance ministers and representatives from economies such as Brunei during last week’s Apec meeting on reducing reliance on the US dollar and expanding the use of local currencies and the yuan for bilateral trade settlement, the city’s treasury chief has said. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu on Sunday also shared…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}