Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office (IFFO)
IFFO is a platform established in July 2016 by the HKMA to facilitate infrastructure investments and their financing.
Hong Kong is an international financial centre with well-developed capital markets. The opening up of Mainland China is accelerating and Hong Kong has seized the opportunity to develop into the largest centre for offshore renminbi (RMB) business. Hong Kong is also the springboard for many Chinese companies expanding overseas, and similarly, an attractive destination for overseas corporations wanting to gain a foothold in the Mainland market. In recent years, a growing number of these companies have been looking into investments in infrastructure and related projects. This has been given further impetus by the Belt and Road Initiative, a strategy by the Chinese Government to promote connectivity and long-term development in the region spanning Asia, Africa and Europe. For these reasons, Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to facilitate infrastructure investments and their financing.
By establishing IFFO, the HKMA can play a valuable role as a catalyst in this development with its mandate to promote Hong Kong as an international financial centre. Another advantage is the HKMA’s strong relationship with major players in infrastructure investment and their financing, whose engagement and support is crucial to achieving success.
The mission of IFFO is to facilitate infrastructure investments and their financing by working with a cluster of key stakeholders. The functions of IFFO are:
- providing a platform for information exchange and experience sharing;
- building capacity and knowledge on infrastructure investments and financing;
- promoting market and product development; and
- facilitating infrastructure investment and financing flows.
For more information, please visit the IFFO website (www.iffo.org.hk)
