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18th AFF opens tomorrow
Bringing together political and financial leaders to shape the direction of global economic development in 2025
12 January 2025 – The 18th Asian Financial Forum 2025 (AFF), co-organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) on 13 and 14 January (Monday and Tuesday). Themed “Powering the Next Growth Engine”, this year’s AFF brings together more than 100 global policymakers, business leaders, financial experts and investors, entrepreneurs, tech giants and economists to dissect the development of financial markets and investment opportunities. These industry heavyweights will also explore how Hong Kong can leverage its strengths as an international financial centre to seek breakthroughs in a period of change. The two-day event is expected to attract more than 3,600 global financial and business elites to participate.
The forum’s Opening Session will feature welcome remarks from Dr Peter K N Lam, Chairman of the HKTDC, and opening remarks by John Lee, Chief Executive of the HKSAR. This year’s AFF also presents a line-up of distinguished speakers. Prof Justin Lin Yifu, a globally renowned economist and former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank (2008-2012) and Prof Stuart Russell, Co-chair of the World Economic Forum Council on AI, will deliver speeches at two keynote luncheons, sharing unique insights on hot topics such as macroeconomics, the global economic landscape, artificial intelligence and fintech.
This year’s forum will offer more than 40 thematic speeches, policy dialogue sessions, keynote luncheons and breakfast panels, fireside chats and thematic workshops. Popular topics from previous years will be continue to be addressed, including Global Economic Outlook, China Opportunities and CIO Insights, while a new session titled Gulf Cooperation Council Chapter focuses on business opportunities from emerging markets in Mainland China, ASEAN, the Middle East and other regions.
Exhibition zones this year include the Fintech Showcase, Fintech HK Startup Salon, InnoVenture Salon and the Global Investment Zone, attracting fintech companies, start-ups and international investment agencies to foster connections and build cooperation across different industries. Furthermore, AFF Deal-making will build on the success of previous years to connect sources of funds and deals from around the world through one-on-one meetings.
We cordially invite you or your representatives to attend the forum. Details are as follows:
18th Asian Financial Forum
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Date |
13 and 14 January 2025 (Monday and Tuesday) |
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Venue |
Hall 5B-E, HKCEC |
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Media registration counter |
Next to the entrance of Hall 5D (Note: From 7:45am to 2pm on Day 1 of the Forum, please use lift No. 21 and 22 next to Hall 1D and visit media registration counter on 5/F for registration and collection of your press badge) |
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Media hub |
Hall 5D |
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Websites |
Asian Financial Forum: |
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AFF programme: |
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Speaker list: |
Remarks:
- Please bring your business card or press identification card to receive your press badge at the media registration counter next to the entrance of Hall 5D
- Video and audio recordings at the forum, except for the opening session, should be used only in the context of media reporting. Please consult HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department for live-streaming and recorded broadcast details
- Media representatives who wish to conduct interviews with the speakers are required to submit their interview requests via email to ayiu@yuantung.com.hk or lsong@yuantung.com.hk
- Photographers are suggested to use telephoto lenses in the Camera Zone
- Simultaneous translation will be provided throughout the forum, which is for reference only. In the event of discrepancies, the original language shall prevail
Highlights of the 18th Asian Financial Forum
First Day Programme: 13 January 2025 (Monday)
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Opening Session |
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Time: |
09:00 – 09:45 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Welcome remarks: |
Dr Peter K N Lam, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council |
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Opening remarks:
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John KC Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China |
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Special remarks: |
Liu Zhenmin, Special Envoy for Climate Change of China |
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Plenary Session I – Innovation: The Solution to Unlock the Next Growth Engines |
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Time: |
09:45 – 10:45 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Panel chair: |
Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China |
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Panel speakers: |
Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue of Pakistan H.E. Adylbek Kasymaliev, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan H.E. Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance of Luxembourg Yoshiki Takeuchi, Deputy Secretary-General of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) |
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Policy Dialogue – Accelerating Growth through Innovation |
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Time: |
11:15 – 12:15 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Panel chair: |
Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority |
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Panel speakers: |
Bayardavaa Bayarsaikhan, Director General of the Monetary Policy Department of The Bank of Mongolia Dr Philip Lane, Chief Economist and Member of Executive Board of European Centre Bank Rogelio V. Quevedo, Commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission of Philippines Dr Olli Rehn, Governor of Bank of Finland |
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Keynote Luncheon |
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Time: |
12:30 – 14:00 |
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Venue: |
Grand Hall 3/F, HKCEC |
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Welcome remarks: |
Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China |
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Opening remarks: |
Chen Liang, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Committee of China International Capital Corporation Limited |
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Speaker: |
Prof Justin Lin Yifu, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of World Bank (2008-2012) |
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Moderator: |
Prof YC Richard Wong, Philip Wong Kennedy Wong Professor in Political Economy and Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong |
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Panel Discussion on Global Economic Outlook |
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Time: |
14:15 – 15:45 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Special address: |
Liu Haoling, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Investment Officer of China Investment Corporation |
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Panel chair: |
Victor LL Chu, Chairman and CEO of First Eastern Investment Group |
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Panel speakers: |
Ernesto Torres Cantú, Member of Executive Management Team and Head of International of Citi Bonnie Y Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) J Christopher Donahue, President & Chief Executive Officer of Federated Hermes, Inc Antoine Gosset-Grainville, Chairman of the Board of Directors of AXA Dr Fred Hu, Founder and Chairman of Primavera Capital Group |
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Panel Discussion on China Opportunities |
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Time: |
15:45 – 17:00 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Panel chair: |
Irina Fan, Director of Research, Hong Kong Trade Development Council |
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Panel speakers: |
Charles Li, Founder and Chairman, Micro Connect Li Yimei, Chief Executive Officer of China Asset Management Co Ltd Stephen Orlins, President of The National Committee on United States-China Relations Ken Wong, Executive Vice President of Lenovo and President of Lenovo Solutions and Services Group Wilson Zhang, Managing Director, Global Executive Head of Equities, China International Capital Corporation Limited |
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Global Spectrum – Setting Global Milestone in Sustainability |
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Time: |
15:45 – 16:15 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5E) |
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Panel chair: |
Janey Lai, Chief Executive Officer of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council |
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Panel speakers: |
Edward Au, President of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) Sue Lloyd, Vice Chair of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Justin Wu, Managing Director and Head of Climate Change Asia Pacific of Global Sustainability of HSBC |
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Dialogues for Tomorrow – Payment Tech in Action |
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Time: |
17:00 – 18:00 |
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Venue: |
The Vision (Hall 5E) |
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Panel Chair: |
David Chen, Partner, Technology Consulting, EY |
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Panel speakers: |
Marc Baghadjian, CEO and Co-Founder of Hypercard American Express Dennis Chang, Executive Vice President and Division President of Greater China, Mastercard Lewis Sun, Global Head of Domestic and Emerging Payments, Global Payments Solutions of HSBC Tim Ying, Chief Executive Officer, Octopus Holdings Limited |
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Plenary Session II – Collaboration: The Road to Growth and Prosperity |
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Time: |
17:15 – 18:15 |
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Venue: |
Hall 5B |
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Panel speakers: |
Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China Roberta Casali, Vice-President, Finance and Risk Management, Asian Development Bank Jin Liqun, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Satvinder Singh Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) |
Second Day Programme: 14 January 2025 (Tuesday)
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Breakfast Panel |
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Time: |
08:15 – 09:15 |
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Venue: |
3/F Grand Hall, HKCEC |
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Welcome Remarks: |
Mary Huen, CEO, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited |
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Opening remarks: |
Laurence Li, Chairman of Financial Services Development Council |
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Moderator: |
Dr King Au, Executive Director of Financial Services Development Council |
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Panel speakers: |
Joseph H. L. Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China Daniel R Fung, Vice Chairman & Carbon Markets Working Group Leader of Financial Services Development Council John Murton, Senior Sustainability Advisor of Standard Chartered Bank Sharon Wang, Senior Director of Group Treasury and Project Finance of CLP Group Gabriel Wilson-Otto, New Business Committee Member & Transition Finance Working Group Co-leader, Financial Services Development Council and Head of Sustainable Investing Strategy of Fidelity International |
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Dialogue with Kai-Fu Lee |
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Time: |
10:15 – 10:35 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Moderator: |
Prof Norman C Tien, Executive Vice-President (Administration & Finance) of The University of Hong Kong |
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Speaker: |
Dr Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AI |
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CIO Insights |
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Time: |
10:35 – 11:35 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Panel chair |
Albert Goh, Chief Investment Officer (External Managers) of Exchange Fund Investment Office of Hong Kong Monetary Authority |
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Panel speakers: |
Vincent Mortier, Group Chief Investment Officer of Amundi Bei Saville, Chief Investment Officer, Treasury and Fingerboard Family Office, Advance Manraj Sekhon, Chief Investment Officer, Templeton Global Investments Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, Partner, Managing Director, and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Multi-Asset Solutions of Goldman Sachs Asset Management |
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Keynote Luncheon |
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Time: |
12:30 – 14:00 |
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Venue: |
Grand Hall 3/F, HKCEC |
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Opening Remarks: |
Jack Chan, EY China Chairman and EY Greater China Regional Managing Partner |
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Speaker:
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Prof Stuart Russell, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley and Co-chair of the World Economic Forum Council on AI and the OECD’s Expert Group on AI Futures |
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Moderator: |
Henry Zheng, FinTech and Innovative Partner, EY |
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Gulf Cooperation Council Chapter |
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Time: |
14:15 – 15:30 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Keynote speech: |
Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China H.E. Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf |
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Panel speakers: |
Dr Faris Algarni. Assistant Deputy of Policies and Legislations Development and Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia H.E. Younis Haji Alkhoori, Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance of United Arab Emirates Nasser Khalifa AlKindi, Chief Executive Officer of Invest Oman Abdulrahman Al-Sowaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Development Bank Ding Chen, Chief Executive Officer of CSOP Asset Management Limited and Permanent Honorary Chairperson of Chinese Asset Management Association of Hong Kong Surendra Rosha, Co-Chief Executive of Asia and the Middle East of HSBC |
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Global Spectrum – Business for a Better Future: The Role of Corporations in Economic and Social Advancement |
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Time: |
15:45– 16:45 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Fireside Chat |
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Moderator: |
Ronnie C Chan, Honorary Chair of Hang Lung Properties Limited |
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Speaker: |
Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group |
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Panel Discussion |
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Panel Chair:
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Dr Ruth A Shapiro, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society |
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Panel Speakers: |
Ronnie C Chan, Honorary Chair of Hang Lung Properties Limited Nirvana Chaudhary, Managing Director of CG Corp Global Kattiya Indaravijaya, Chief Executive Officer of Kasikornbank Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group |
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Dialogues for Tomorrow – Investing in a Sustainable Future |
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Time: |
16:45-17:45 |
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Venue: |
The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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Fireside Chat |
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Moderator: |
Sally Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Investment Funds Association; Vice President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association |
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Speaker: |
Anil Wadhwani, Chief Executive Officer of Prudential plc |
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Panel Discussion |
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Panel Chair: |
Sally Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Investment Funds Association; Vice President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association |
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Panel speakers: |
Michael J McGrath, Assistant Secretary General of Department of Finance Ireland Martin Neubert, Partner and Group Chief Investment Officer of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Jiadi Yu, Chief Investment Officer of International Finance Corporation (IFC) Tasos Zavitsanakis, Managing Director and Co-head Sustainable Finance APAC of UBS AG |
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Media Arrangements: Asian Financial Forum 2025
To attending media:
To ensure the forum proceeds smoothly, would all attending media kindly note the following media arrangements. Thank you for your attention:
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The Stage (Hall 5B) |
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There are areas that are set aside for the press. Please stay within your desired areas for the duration of the forum.
Free Wi-Fi connection will be provided by the HKCEC
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(Please turn over for media arrangements for Keynote Luncheons and Breakfast Panel)
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Media Arrangements: Keynote Luncheons (13 and 14 January) and Breakfast Panel (14 January), 3/F Grand Hall, HKCEC |
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Media enquiries
Yuan Tung Financial Relations:
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Agnes Yiu |
Tel: (852) 3428 5690 |
Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hk |
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Louise Song |
Tel: (852) 3428 5691 |
Email: lsong@yuantung.com.hk |
HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:
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Clayton Lauw |
Tel: (852) 2584 4472 |
Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.org |
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Katy Wong |
Tel: (852) 2584 4524 |
Email: katy.ky.wong@hktdc.org |