Hong Kong is Asia's leading wealth management center with 80 fund management houses currently operating there, including firms from the United States, Britain and Switzerland.

'Fund managers can leverage on Hong Kong's unique strengths to tap the huge domestic savings of China,' Chan told a Washington forum.

In 2006, Hong Kong's combined fund management business exceeded US$789 billion (S$1,092 billion), of which 60 per cent were sourcing from overseas investors, he said.

This is 'a clear indication of how attractive we are to overseas fund managers to conduct asset management business,' he said.

Mr Chan said that Hong Kong, which together with Macau are called special administrative regions of China, was also witnessing an expansion of the Chinese yuan currency-linked business.

Hong Kong is the first place outside the mainland with a yuan bond market.

'The development of Renminbi (yuan) business in Hong Kong has further deepened economic integration between Hong Kong and the mainland, providing valuable opportunities for investors who wish to gain exposure to this strengthening currency,' he said.

He also urged investors to capitalize on the growth of the mainland economy by investing in Chinese enterprises shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

There are some 440 such enterprises, ranging from financial institutions, telecommunications, coal and gold mining, oil, gas, car manufacturing to supermarkets, he said.

Chan gave an assurance that Hong Kong would review its regulatory model to ensure that it would not hamper financial innovation nor stifle further development of its financial services industry.

In June last year, it announced a set of initiatives to streamline the licensing procedures for overseas fund managers wishing to operate in Hong Kong. -- AFP