Anric Blat of Infiniti Capital says Hong Kong has tremendous advantages that make it one of the world's top financial centres

Anric Blatt, the managing director of Infiniti Capital, has worked in Hong Kong's financial services industry for over seven years. Together with his partners, he recently set up Infiniti Capital to provide premium wealth management solutions to both private and institutional clients. The Namibian-born financier believes Hong Kong is one of the world's most dynamic and efficient financial centres - and one that offers "extras" like rugged mountains with panoramic sea views and secluded beaches.  

"Without risk of overstating the obvious, Hong Kong really is one of the world's greatest financial centres. Hong Kong's fundamentals are well known: free flow of capital and information, an independent judiciary based on the rule of law, clean and efficient government, a simple and low tax regime, and state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure. In addition, there is a paperless clearing settlement and custodian system operated by the Central Money Markets Unit (CMU) in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
 
More specifically, Hong Kong has the critical mass of talents including a large pool of qualified professionals, world-class financial infrastructure and abundant liquidity. People are eager and keen to work and place high value on providing a wide range of innovative financial services. With so many talents located so close to each other, this hubbing effect is wealth-creating.

The co-operation between Hong Kong and the central government to put the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area at the forefront of an expansive development strategy should further strengthen Hong Kong's position as a trading intermediary, whether through passage of physical goods or as a provider of key services. There is also the substantial service economy that enables us to capitalise on the enhanced trade flows between China and the wider world, leading to growth in demand for Hong Kong's financial and insurance services. With these tremendous advantages in our favour, we should not lose sight of the fact that we are the main strategic gateway to one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.

Ideal location for financial services

It's against this backdrop of important factors that makes Hong Kong such an ideal location to develop and distribute Infiniti Capital services, which focus on well diversified, actively managed funds that fit into a client's asset allocation strategy and deliver what they set out to achieve. Finances are an important part of our lives and in Hong Kong people are very aware of their investment options.

An integral part of the Infiniti proposition is investor education. We believe in empowering our clients to act out their own aspirations, allowing them to maintain a well-balanced overall approach to their financial security. We call it 'going naked' with our clients. They know that if we do not make money for them, we will not be charging them a fee.
 
However, Hong Kong is not only about all work and no play. It is certainly one of the world's most vibrant cities but it is also a kaleidoscope of art and culture, where old and new, history and heritage, meet at every turn. Many of my visitors are surprised to discover that nearly 70 per cent of Hong Kong's total area is made up of open land and much of this has been officially conserved as country parks - one of the world's highest ratios of designated parkland.

Even though I am one of only a handful of Namibian-born Hong Kong ID (identification) holders, during the recent Rugby World Cup, people of all nationalities were cheering with me for the tournament underdogs. To me this shows the true cosmopolitan nature of Hong Kong - we live in a fantastic city."

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