Hong Kong is the only place in China capable of replicating the financing model of US tech giant SpaceX, which leverages market forces to grow rapidly, former leader Leung Chun-ying has said, urging the city to develop professional services for the emerging aerospace industry.

Leung, a vice-chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, also called on Hong Kong to make trade-offs when formulating its first five-year plan, prioritising initiatives that align with mainland China’s development goals.

Earlier this month, SpaceX’s record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) raised US$85.7 billion, making its chief executive Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

“Elon Musk leveraged the highly market-oriented economy of the US and the power of a capitalist society to pool the country’s capital, talent, and technology in a short period of time,” Leung told a radio programme on Sunday.

“Among all cities in our country, which one possesses such a capitalist market force to adopt a model akin to Elon Musk’s? It is Hong Kong.”

Leung stressed that Hong Kong was well-positioned to develop professional services to support the growth of the aerospace and shipping sectors, including legal, insurance, and financing services.