[Paul Chan: This year will be the best-performing year for the Hang Seng Index since 2017, with net fund inflows exceeding $41 billion] Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, published his blog post 'Looking Ahead to the New Year,' in which he mentioned that in terms of asset markets, Hong Kong stocks in 2025 will rise for the second consecutive year. As of last week, the Hang Seng Index closed at 25,818 points, up approximately 29% from the end of last year. In terms of growth, this will be the best-performing year since 2017. Regarding asset and wealth management, in the first nine months of this year, net fund inflows into SFC-authorized funds registered in Hong Kong exceeded $41 billion, more than 1.5 times the total for the whole of last year. Additionally, Hong Kong will accelerate the development of artificial intelligence as a core industry, enriching the diversity of the local financial market. This includes speeding up the development of fixed income and currency markets, green finance, and financial technology, as well as actively exploring new opportunities such as commodity trading and international gold trading.