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Demonstrating Our Strength in Finance and Expanding Our International Circle of Friends

In 2024, Hong Kong fully showcased its glamour as an events capital, especially in the area of finance, by staging a number of major international financial events.  By bringing financial leaders and investment experts from across the globe to the city, these events presented to the world Hong Kong’s unique edges and enormous strengths, with the aim of attracting talent and capital worldwide to seek business opportunities here.  Looking ahead, more financial mega events are coming up in 2025, covering family office, investment, financial technology (FinTech), Web3 and other areas.  These mega events will focus global attention on Hong Kong’s financial sector and keep enhancing Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial centre.


Highlights of 2024

Summing up the year, Hong Kong leveraged its diverse advantages as an international financial centre and organised to great success a series of major financial events of global significance, fully displaying its unique position and strong appeal in the global financial market.  The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB), in collaboration with the Financial Services Development Council, the dedicated Family Office team and the Financial Services, FinTech & Sustainability team of Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), as well as various regulators (including the Securities and Futures Commission, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council, the Insurance Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority), organised, sponsored or supported over 550 local and overseas financial events and industry exchanges, drawing around 480 000 participants from around the world.

These mega events allowed Hong Kong to exhibit its leading position in financial innovation, capital markets and sustainable finance development.  They also fostered actual international co-operation and capital flow, injecting new impetus into Hong Kong’s economic growth and affording new opportunities for future co-operation among global investors.

Strengthening and expanding our “circle of friends” with the global community is a key approach to financial development.  To demonstrate Hong Kong’s role as a “super-connector” and a “super value-adder”, the 17th Asian Financial Forum held in early 2024 kicking off the year’s financial mega events, was themed “Multilateral Cooperation for a Shared Tomorrow”.  The forum attracted more than 3 600 financial, political and business elites from over 50 countries and regions, and over 700 one-on-one deal-making meetings were arranged to set industry trends, open up new opportunities and deepen business co-operation.

During the Financial Mega Event Week in March, three international financial summits were held, including the second edition of the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit organised by the FSTB in collaboration with InvestHK.  Over 400 influential decision makers from top-notch global family offices and their professional teams were gathered for in-depth discussions of key issues relating to global family offices.  At the summit, the Government also announced the launch of “Impact Link” (iLink) operated by the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy.  This charity project repository assists family offices in wealth legacy and transition planning, and in promotion of social good, further fostering the development of Hong Kong into a hub for global family offices.

The Financial Mega Event Week also featured the inaugural One Earth Summit and the first Global Investors’ Symposium.  Both mega events were able to draw leaders and experts in various fields to Hong Kong, fully proving Hong Kong’s significant role in sustainable finance development, and its unique advantage in financial investment.

Given Hong Kong’s position as an international FinTech hub, the week-long Hong Kong FinTech Week 2024 attracted over 37 000 visitors from over 100 economies and featured over 700 sponsors and exhibitors, with more than 30 Mainland and international trade delegations in attendance.  During the event, I delivered the Policy Statement on Artificial Intelligence, aiming at fostering a healthy and sustainable market environment which enables financial institutions to seize opportunities and use artificial intelligence responsibly, thereby promoting the high-quality development of the financial market.

Amid the global changes not seen in a century facing our country and Hong Kong, the third Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit was held in mid-November under the theme “Sailing through Changes”, with the participation of global and regional leaders from more than 120 financial institutions.  The Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr He Lifeng, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech, sharing insights into the latest developments in the Mainland economy, and reaffirming the Central Government’s support for and recognition of Hong Kong as an international financial centre.

The fact that these major financial events attracted global financial leaders to Hong Kong was a testament to international investors’ full recognition of the city’s financial strengths as well as its allure and competitiveness as an international metropolis.

Looking into 2025: a strong line-up of major international financial events

In 2025, we will continue to stage an array of major financial events to show to the world that Hong Kong is a “super treasure bowl” in which global capital converges.  For instance, the first quarter of the year will see the staging of the first of the series, the Asian Financial Forum 2025, on 13 and 14 January.  Themed “Powering the Next Growth Engine”, the forum will bring together more than a hundred political and business leaders, financial experts and others from around the world to discuss the latest developments in financial markets and investment opportunities from various perspectives.  They will also explore how Hong Kong can leverage its strengths as an international financial centre to identify new growth engines in a changing environment.  The forum is expected to draw thousands of industry players from dozens of countries and regions around the world.

The third generation Internet (Web3) has vast potential.  Consensus Hong Kong 2025, one of the largest and most influential conferences in the realms of Web3, blockchain and digital assets, will be hosted by CoinDesk in February 2025, with over 8 000 participants expected.  The Government has provided the organiser with all-round support, including professional advisory and venue liaison.  By choosing Hong Kong as the first destination for hosting this flagship industry conference beyond North America, the Web3 industry has cast a vote of confidence in Hong Kong.

The third edition of the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit to be held in March under the theme “Hong Kong of the world, for the world” will gather and connect elites from around the world, underscoring Hong Kong’s status not only as a leading international financial centre, but also a hub for global family offices to pursue their dreams and seek business opportunities.


Leveraging our financial strength to tell good stories of Hong Kong and connect the Motherland with the world

Major financial events provide a key platform for telling good stories of Hong Kong to the world.  By hosting international events, Hong Kong showcases to the world its leading position in connecting markets across the globe, creating value and spearheading innovation.  According to the Global Financial Centres Index, Hong Kong ranked 3rd globally and 1st in the Asia-Pacific region, fully reflecting the city’s well-recognised position in the global financial market.  In 2025, we will continue to demonstrate our unparalleled attractiveness and competitiveness to the world with more diversified international financial events and opportunities for deeper co-operation.  We will, as always, strengthen our financial sectors and step up co-operation with different markets through continuous policy enhancement, reform and innovation, thereby further reinforcing and raising Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre.

Meanwhile, we will continue to give full play to our unique role as a “super connector”, seize the opportunities arising from our country’s economic development, and help “tell good stories of China” by linking the Mainland closely with the global market.  We will establish a broader and more efficient platform for co-operation to demonstrate to the international community the potential unleashed by our country’s economic growth.  This will enable Hong Kong to scale new heights in facilitating global capital flow and deepening co-operation, reinforcing its crucial role in “connecting the Motherland with the world”.

 

30 December 2024