Global Impact: ‘Hong Kong is back’: global financiers herald city’s return

Global Impact is a fortnightly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world

In this edition, we look back at the highlights from the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit and ponder what it means for Hong Kong’s future as a global financial hub.

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The Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit took place in Hong Kong last week. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 2:00pm, 7 Nov 2022

The much-heralded gathering of global bankers and financiers ended on Thursday on an optimistic note about Hong Kong’s prospects, as overseas attendees hailed their unhindered participation as proof that the city can put its coronavirus restrictions behind it and get back to business.

The message that was repeated and reinforced throughout the three days of the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit was that it is “business as usual” in Hong Kong, even if the city had been slower than other countries in opening its borders to corporate and leisure travel.

The fact that half of the 250 financiers from 120 global firms did manage to fly in from abroad – 40 of them being C-suite executives – underscored the message by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu that “Hong Kong is back”.

The event, led by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), kicked off informally on Tuesday with a closed-door meeting between some invited bankers and the city’s financial officials at the office of the de facto central bank.

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Hong Kong’s financial summit ends on an upbeat note as city heads ‘back to business’

Bankers and financiers seen arriving for the meeting included HSBC CEO Noel Quinn, Standard Chartered group CEO Bill Winters, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Morgan Stanley chairman James Gorman, UBS Group chairman Colm Kelleher, Bank of China president Liu Jin, BlackRock president Rob Kapito, Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann, JPMorgan Asia-Pacific CEO Filippo Gori, Pimco CEO Emmanuel Roman, and Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman William E. Conway Jr.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun led the Hong Kong officials at the meeting, joined by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Securities and Futures Commission chief executive Ashley Alder, and Nicolas Aguzin, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).