Hong Kong Legislative Council member for the financial services sector, Li Weihong, has urged the Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong Futures Exchange to expedite a review of the clearing system and standardize cross-product margin arrangements for securities, futures, and stock options. He proposed that authorities engage in discussions with mainland China to deepen financial connectivity and explore initiatives such as a "New Share Connect," "Futures Connect," "Commodities Connect," and "Licensing Connect." Additionally, he recommended that the Hong Kong Futures Exchange implement 24-hour trading as soon as possible, further diversify commodity futures offerings, enhance promotional efforts for the futures industry, and introduce incentive programs to stimulate trading in futures products. Li also suggested that the government continue to actively assist and attract small and medium-sized enterprises from both domestic and international markets to list in Hong Kong. He called for a further review of the market positioning of the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) and the Main Board, proposing a rebranding of GEM and the development of effective solutions. New listings are expected to drive business for small and medium-sized underwriters, sponsors, and brokerages, while increasing demand for services from accounting and legal firms. He also recommended relaxing regulations related to mergers and acquisitions or reverse takeovers (RTO) for listed companies. Since the government has discontinued the Technology Voucher Programme, Li proposed establishing a dedicated fund to support industry upgrades, helping firms comply with new regulatory requirements such as paperless securities market systems and other system upgrades to reduce compliance costs. A comprehensive review of fees levied by the Securities and Futures Commission and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited was also suggested to lower operational costs for the industry. Although the government has stated it does not intend to further reduce the stamp duty on stock transactions, the industry continues to advocate for a reduction, such as a unilateral levy of 0.05%, or the implementation of a tiered, decreasing stamp duty. Exempting stamp duty for dual-counter stocks was also proposed to stimulate trading and support the internationalization of the Renminbi. Regarding the development of the gold market, Li Weihong emphasized the need to review and optimize legal and regulatory frameworks for both traditional and innovative products. For instance, paper gold programs currently limit access for non-bank institutions. He advocated for actively promoting the tokenization of gold assets and urged the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to encourage banks to adopt a cooperative stance toward operators of precious metals and digital assets, particularly by avoiding the routine classification of general business activities as high-risk for anti-money laundering purposes.