00:00 So the HKMA organised the Global Financial Leaders Summit last November to deliver the
00:04 message to the wider world that Hong Kong was back.
00:07 Right.
00:08 Almost a year on, could you let us know how has the city been doing since that big declaration?
00:12 Right.
00:13 Well, last year it was also in early November that we hosted the first summit.
00:19 It was quite a tremendous success.
00:20 It was well attended by 260 heavyweights from around the world.
00:27 And I think I should also thank both our teams and also government departments for walking
00:32 the extra mile to make the guests really feel comfortable and welcome.
00:37 And they go away really seeing Hong Kong, renewing our vibes, having the vibrancy.
00:43 And one effect that we have not exactly foreseen before is the ripple effect.
00:48 The effect because these are all heavyweights, the opinion leaders, the influencers, when
00:53 they get back to their own institutions, they broadcast for us to their boards, to the management
01:00 team and also to their staff about what Hong Kong really is like.
01:05 And afterwards, we actually see a big stream of their management team coming to Hong Kong.
01:10 I still remember we hosted that in November.
01:14 The stream of C-suite executives came in from January.
01:18 And there were times when I have to see like six or seven of them in one day.
01:22 And then from January, February, we also see the stream of management team meetings coming
01:30 back in.
01:31 Even board meetings, they are starting to hold it in Hong Kong so that their board members
01:35 can really see the place.
01:37 And we're also seeing conferences coming back, those organized by the global banks and also
01:41 asset managers.
01:42 And it started in January, February.
01:45 In fact, we are organizing different conferences ourselves.
01:49 We find it extremely hard to find a hotel boardroom to host those conferences.
01:54 So you can see that that stream of conferences is continuing.
01:58 Just about two weeks ago, I was actually in four different conferences hosted by different
02:04 global banks.
02:05 I was told that in that week alone, there were five different conferences hosted by
02:11 the banks bringing their clients from around the world in.
02:14 And I think that's important.
02:16 And that actually, by bringing people in, they can actually see Hong Kong.
02:20 So we see that momentum gradually coming back.
02:26 And with all these vibes, we also see talents coming back.
02:30 During COVID, because of the restrictions, we saw some talents returning home or temporarily
02:35 relocated to other places.
02:38 But I was told by the financial institutions that from January, February, they start to
02:42 come back.
02:43 And more importantly, new talents from other countries, from overseas, are coming back
02:48 in to fill in the gaps.
02:50 Talent is extremely important.
02:51 And we are seeing that coming in.
02:53 And the government scheme, of course, the top talent scheme of bringing talents in is
02:57 extremely important to sustain the growth of Hong Kong's financial sector.
03:01 So from the summit last year to now, I can see the momentum building up quite well.
03:07 And I think it's really a good time to host the second edition to bring even more people
03:12 in, those who have not got a chance yet to come into Hong Kong and see for themselves,
03:17 the chance to get them in and continue to spread our story.
03:21 So this second edition of the summit, of course, is held in conjunction with the 30th anniversary
03:27 of HKMA in April.
03:29 Happy belated birthday, by the way.
03:31 So what is the theme of this year's summit?
03:34 What is your key message?
03:35 Well, the theme for this year's summit is "Living with Complexity."
03:40 If you look back to last year's summit, the theme was "Navigating Beyond Uncertainty."
03:47 This year, after one year, we hope that those uncertainties are gone.
03:53 But realistically, they're still with us.
03:55 Whether you're talking about the global economic slowdown, the uncertain path of inflation,
04:03 therefore the uncertain path of interest rates, geopolitics, or even the disruptions that
04:08 we are seeing in, for example, technology, generative AI, that makes the whole landscape
04:15 quite complex.
04:17 And we believe that these complexities will stay with us.
04:20 It's really up to us to really think about how to manage the risk arising from these
04:25 complexities and how to generate opportunities, quite importantly, from these complexities.
04:32 For example, technology is a huge opportunity that financial institutions can rely on.
04:37 So the theme is "Living with Complexity."
04:40 But of course, the second message, which is from Hong Kong's perspective, an important
04:46 message or purpose that we want by bringing all these heavyweights in, is for them to
04:52 come and see and feel Hong Kong.
04:55 Because whether we like it or not, there are still misguided perceptions overseas about
05:01 what Hong Kong is like.
05:02 I was told by some of our friends in the US and Europe that, "Hey, are you really quite
05:09 down and out?
05:10 The economy is not doing well, nobody's coming?"
05:12 Or some even ask whether it's safe to walk on the streets of Hong Kong.
05:16 It seems ridiculous from our perspective, but Xi is believing.
05:21 In addition to us going out to tell our story, a very effective way is to bring the heavyweights
05:27 to Hong Kong for them to come and feel the energy, the vibrancy, and also see the opportunities
05:34 here for them to talk to their clients, their staff, and they will very quickly know about
05:39 what the real on-the-ground situation in Hong Kong is.
05:42 And from there, again, like last year, we hope that all these heavyweights can bring
05:47 a positive message back to their home countries and also through the network, spread the right
05:54 perception from our perspective, of course, about Hong Kong.
05:58 So what else can you reveal about the program this year?
06:02 You're going to kick off with dinner at the Palace Museum again?
06:06 Right.
06:07 We will start with a welcome dinner at the Palace Museum.
06:11 Last year it was at the M+ Museum.
06:14 So this year we picked the Palace Museum where they can see the amazing treasures in the
06:20 museum.
06:21 There will be performances there, and then the next day there will be the first day summit
06:26 at the Four Seasons.
06:29 And it will be a full agenda.
06:31 The second day it will be more about asset management investments.
06:35 All together we have about 30, 40 speakers.
06:38 The agenda that we have for the main summit is like what I said, living with complexity,
06:44 ranging from how our speakers, the heavyweights, see the world as it is, with uncertain economic
06:53 path, uncertain inflation path, probably higher for longer interest rates, geopolitics coming
07:00 in, and also where ESG is in terms of disruptions.
07:06 Are we at a crossroads?
07:09 And where technology is.
07:11 Are they enhancing or generating risk for the financial sector?
07:16 And quite importantly, also the China story.
07:19 People overseas are very interested in the China story, and we have invited the mainland
07:25 financial regulators to come to talk about their views on the Chinese economy and also
07:32 the policies.
07:34 And hopefully mainland financial institutions will also participate.
07:38 And I should also add that for the first day summit, it will end with a special lunchtime
07:43 fireside chat to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the HKMA.
07:48 After all, it's our party.
07:50 So we really want to do a special lunchtime chat, but the details won't be in the program.
07:56 It will be a surprise.
07:57 Right.
07:58 Could you reveal how many numbers are you expecting to come this year, and how many
08:02 of those will be global heavyweights?
08:04 We have a total capacity of about 300 people, and it's filling up very fast.
08:10 Currently, we already got registration of almost 300 people already, mostly from overseas.
08:17 And we just did the count.
08:18 I actually did the count myself just now.
08:21 We've got 90 global CEOs or chairmen from the global financial institutions.
08:27 So 90 heavyweights.
08:29 And of these 90 heavyweights, we have invited about 30, 40 to be our speakers.
08:35 So it should be quite an exciting and thought-provoking seminar.
08:40 Thank you.
08:41 All right.
08:42 Thank you so much.
08:42 Thank you.
08:43 Thank you.
08:43 [END]
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