Redefining Growth: Innovation ∙ Breakthrough ∙ Inclusiveness The 13th Asian Financial Forum (AFF) will be organised on 13-14 January 2020 at HKCEC. Global influential financial and business leaders, including former US Fed Chair Janet Yellen and 2019 Nobel Prize Winner Abhijit Banerjee, will join AFF to examine pressing issues such as sustainable growth, trade and supply chain, ESG, asset and wealth management and financial innovation. Register Now! http://bit.ly/36CrQci

Hong Kong’s role as an economic bridge for Mainland China into the global economy and as a top financial centre received a vote of confidence from Dr Janet Yellen, former Chair of the US Federal Reserve. Speaking beside the Asian Financial Forum 2020 where she was a keynote speaker, she expected the US central bank to maintain interest rates at neutral this year while urging the Fed to retain independence on economic policy.

With financial markets offering little for the poorest, the Belt and Road Initiative is taking leadership by bringing many underdeveloped areas into the marketplace, says Professor Abhijit Banerjee, Nobel Laureate and MIT economics professor. Speaking beside the Asian Financial Forum 2020 where he is a keynote speaker, he says that Hong Kong and the AFF, with global financial talent, can galvanise leadership to alleviate global poverty.

Thailand’s new third stock exchange will aim at startups and crowd funding with many opportunities for Hong Kong and global investors, says Thailand’s Finance Minister. He was commenting beside the Asian Financial Forum 2020 and said the country’s drive for economic development included the ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA, Belt and Road Initiative and Greater Bay Area blueprint, while the AFF provided a dynamic atmosphere for business opportunities.

Soundbites in 13th Asian Financial Forum from Dr Janet L. Yellen (Chair, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System (2014-2018)), Prof Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee (Winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics; Ford Foundation International Prof of Economics of Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Dr Geraldine Buckingham (Chair of Asia Pacific, BlackRock) and Mr Simon Loong (Founder and Group CEO, WeLab)

Soundbites in 13th Asian Financial Forum from Dr William Fung (Group Chairman, Li & Fung Limited), Mr Martin Raiser (Country Director for China and Mongolia, and Director for Korea, World Bank Group and Mr Jin Liqun (President and Chairman, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank)

Redefining Growth: Innovation ∙ Breakthrough ∙ Inclusiveness The 13th Asian Financial Forum (AFF) will be organised on 13-14 January 2020 at HKCEC. Global influential financial and business leaders, including former US Fed Chair Janet Yellen and 2019 Nobel Prize Winner Abhijit Banerjee, will join AFF to examine pressing issues such as sustainable growth, trade and supply chain, ESG, asset and wealth management and financial innovation. Register Now!

The latest fintech innovations and next-gen ideas from around the world are showcased at the Asian Financial Forum (AFF). AFF is Asia’s leading platform for global financial and business leaders, fintech innovators and entrepreneurs as well as investors and venture capitalists to exchange insights, intelligence and business opportunities in the dynamic markets of Asia and beyond.

Speakers at the Asian Financial Forum 2019 (AFF) spoke of Hong Kong’s opportunities, in the face of international trade tensions and the advent of new, technology-driven innovations. Raymund Chao of PwC Greater China described Hong Kong as a “living lab” for the Greater Bay Area smart city proposal, while “sharing economy” expert April Rinne said AFF is a world-class forum for discussing public-private sector technology-related issues.

Companies spend a great deal of money on technological “hardware” but also need to focus on “software” such as strategies, leadership and culture to achieve innovative breakthroughs, says Raymund Chao of PwC. Speaking ahead of the 2018 Asian Financial Forum, Mr Chao also addressed how the Belt and Road Initiative will spur innovation – a major theme on the agenda at the 15-16 January event.

The internationalisation of the Rmb could help China become a leader in “green finance” says a member of the Executive Board with Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank. Speaking at the 2018 Asian Financial Forum (AFF), Dr Andreas Dombret says Hong Kong is supporting this process. He also expects the EU to perform better than expected in 2018 with consumer and investment sentiment at an all time high.

A major driver for the Mainland China economy in 2018 will be domestic demand, says Ronnie Chan, Chairman of Hang Lung Properties. Speaking at the January 2018 Asian Financial Forum (AFF), Mr Chan adds that technology will also be a key economic factor for the next 5-7 years. He says the AFF is now a major regional event while the AFF panel he chairs on China opportunities has become an increasingly hot topic.

Innovation and technology were major components of the Asian Financial Forum 2018 with successive speakers providing encouragement to the more than 100 financial, business and investment leaders. Andreas Dombret of Deutsche Bundesbank looked to China’s role in green finance and Hong Kong’s role in RMB internationalisation while keynote speaker Jack Lew spoke of Hong Kong’s role in US-China relations. AFF is a great international opportunity, said Mr Lew.

Co-organised by the 11th Asian Financial Forum and the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, AFF Deal Flow has offered a unique one-to-one deal-sourcing and matchmaking session, showcasing more than 350 investment projects covering digital technology, FinTech, environment and energy, healthcare technology and infrastructure and real estate services. The new InnoVenture Salon enables start-ups to meet with potential business partners as well as seasoned investors and experts for practical advice tapping into Asian markets.

Hong Kong’s advanced online infrastructure and connectivity enabled new digital assistant service Clare.AI to deploy across the Belt and Road Initiative, said Co-founder Bianca Ho. After speaking at the Asian Financial Forum’s InnoTalks series, she said Hong Kong is also beneficial for collecting data, essential for an online service requiring expertise across different languages.

Hong Kong is a great export and import connector and facilitator for Bangladesh said the country’s Consul General at the Asian Financial Forum. Mohammad Sarwar Mahmood said 150 Bangladesh companies are based in Hong Kong to facilitate trade in sectors like garments and computer software, particularly relevant to the Belt and Road Initiative for which Bangladesh is very enthusiastic. He said the AFF brought all the relevant professionals together.

Hong Kong is an Asian leader in the financial technology (FinTech) sector said Daniela Rus, a leading expert in artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking at the Asian Financial Forum 2018, Professor Rus said finance is being transformed by cutting edge technologies with FinTech worth some US$23 billion. She was excited by AFF participants’ desire to introduce visionary ideas.

Structured finance requires securitised transactions and shared corporate risks, and Hong Kong has both the professional talent and international standing to tap these financial instruments said Susie Cheung. Speaking at the Asian Financial Forum, the Co-Convenor of the Asia-Pacific Structured Finance Association said her feedback at the AFF was very positive for regional moves to take advantage of the US$12 trillion global capital markets.

While highly developed financial centres can hold up innovation, Hong Kong’s advantages in adopting financial technology (Fintech) are its gateway to the Mainland China and as a global financial crossroads, said JP Nicols. The Managing Director of advisory programme developer Fintech Forge said after speaking at the AFF InnoTalks series that online-based concepts like Blockchain – a distributed ledger system – were heading in the right direction.

US business familiarity with Hong Kong has opened the door for further investment between the US and the Mainland China, said Jack Lew, former US Treasury Secretary, speaking at the Asian Financial Forum 2018. Mr Lew said Hong Kong offers many attractions, particularly for smaller scale businesses, while the AFF is an important gathering for investors.

Commenting beside the Asian Financial Forum 2017 in Hong Kong, keynote speaker Dr Mohamed El-Erian described China’s Belt and Road Initiative as a supplement to the multilateral trading system, with Hong Kong contributing significantly to the Belt and Road’s development. The Chief Economic Advisor with Allianz, and Chair of the US Global Development Council, also said he expected the US dollar to strengthen with about three interest rate hikes in 2017 and the prospect of US economic growth.

With concern about anti-globalisation policies in developed countries medium term, China’s Belt and Road Initiative is an important factor linking Asia together in a multilateral approach, said Dr Raghuram Rajan at AFF 2017. The former Reserve Bank of India Governor also said Hong Kong could act as a super-connector to the Initiative, given important Belt and Road requirements for design, finance and construction management.

About 85 per cent of China’s domestic requirement for some US$300 billion a year of investments in transitioning to a sustainable environment will come from private sources, said Tim Freshwater, Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia Bank Limited – and Hong Kong’s international financial status is expected to be vital. Speaking after an AFF 2017 breakfast panel, he said green finance also tied closely into China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Since the global financial crisis started in 2008, economic recovery has been uneven – with 2017 opening to myriad uncertainties which may have a lasting impact on prospects for recovery. Markets are bracing for an end to low interest rates and political change. To explore how the global economy and capital markets may be impacted, the HKTDC spoke with Ding Xuedong, Chairman & CEO of China Investment Corporation, on the sidelines of the 2017 Asian Financial Forum.

IBM is part of an online community that in 2017 is introducing a “network of networks” based on Blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology that creates distributed, consensus-driven databases for direct transactions. John Wolpert, IBM’s Global Blockchain Offering Director says the so-called Hyperledger Fabric architecture is in the “next wave” and sharing information with top-level financial experts at AFF 2017 has been very useful to him.

Hong Kong is a highly important point of contact for investors in Asia and Russia in both directions said the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia. It comes at a time when Russia’s economy is emerging from recession with stronger global oil prices said Ksenia Yudaeva, speaking on the sidelines of AFF 2017, while China’s Belt and Road Initiative will benefit all countries, including Russia.

Hong Kong is Asia’s centre for financial innovation with considerable talent from a technical development perspective, said Melissa Guzy, Co-Founder of Hong Kong-based venture capital firm, Arbor Ventures. Speaking on the sidelines of AFF 2017 she said the event showed an exciting development: how entrepreneurship was converging with financial institutions.

The US faces at least three interest rate hikes in 2017 if the new US President delivers on promises, said AFF keynote speaker Mohamed El-Erian. Second keynote speaker Raghuram Rajan expected stronger US growth short term based on market optimism. He believed China’s Belt and Road Initiative could link Asia together, with Hong Kong in a connector role. Dr El-Erian said the AFF 2017 itself “exceeded expectations”.