Media Invitation

Reminder

(Changes are highlighted in yellow)

To assignment editors:

The 19^th Asian Financial Forum opens tomorrow

Connecting global leaders to foster more substantial cooperation and strengthen Hong Kong's role as an international financial centre

25 January 2026 – The 19^th Asian Financial Forum (AFF), co-organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), will be held on Monday, 26 and Tuesday, 27 January 2026 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The forum adopts the theme “Co-creating New Horizons amid an Evolving Landscape” and introduces a brand-new tagline “Finance Empowering Business”.

The Opening Session will feature welcome remarks by Professor Frederick Ma, Chairman of the HKTDC, and opening remarks by John Lee, Chief Executive of the HKSAR. This year’s AFF has invited over 150 government officials, business leaders and financial experts, organising over 40 sessions of keynote speeches, plenary sessions, keynote luncheons, and breakfast panel, as well as thematic workshops. The two-day forum features a rich programme, with key highlights including “Global Economic Outlook”, “CIO Insights”, “Asset and Wealth Management”, as well as the newly introduced “Supply Chain Financing”, and “Gold Exchange” sessions.

This year’s special speakers for the two keynote luncheons include Dr José Manuel Barroso, Former President of the European Commission, Former Prime Minister of Portugal, and Chairman of the Advisory Board at Goldman Sachs International, speaking on the first day, and Paul Polman, Business Leader, Investor, and Philanthropist, speaking on the second day. Both speakers will also meet with the media on the first day of the forum, sharing their insights on macro‑economic prospects, policy risks, and sustainability. Details are as follows: (Latest arrangement: Owing to an adjustment in Dr José Manuel Barroso’s schedule, the media group interview scheduled for the afternoon of 26 January has been cancelled. His attendance at the Keynote Luncheon remains unchanged.)

（Cancelled）

Group interview – Dr José Manuel Barroso

Date	Monday, 26 January 2026
Time	2:15pm to 2:45pm
Venue	Meeting Room S429, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Language	English

Group interview – Paul Polman

Date	Monday, 26 January 2026
Time	4:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Venue	Meeting Room S429, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Language	English (with simultaneous interpretation provided)

On the second day (27 January), the inaugural Global Business Summit will be held. Co-organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the HKSAR Government, the HKTDC and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, the summit will focus on the deep integration of finance with high-value-added industries such as high technology.

The summit’s opening session will feature opening remarks by Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, followed by senior provincial or municipal leaders from the Chinese Mainland. A series of thematic sessions will be held on the same day to explore the future development landscape of industries, and opportunities for mainland enterprises to go global and bring in overseas enterprises to the Chinese Mainland market.

This year’s AFF will feature four exhibition zones, including the FintechHK Start-up Salon, InnoVenture Salon, Global Investment Zone and the new FutureGreen Showcase, bringing about 150 exhibitors together. The AFF Deal-making session will connect investors and projects from all around the world through one-on-one meetings, while also extending online networking and matchmaking for two days, allowing investors and project owners to gain more time for project exchanges and the achievement of substantive cooperation.

We cordially invite you or your representatives to attend the forum. Details are as follows:

19th Asian Financial Forum

Date	Monday, 26 and Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Venue	Hall 5B-E, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Media Registration Counter	Entrance of Hall 5D (Note: From 7:45 am to 10:00 am on Day 1 of the forum, please use lift No. 21 and 22 next to Hall 1D and visit the media registration counter on 5/F for registration and collection of press badge)
Media Hub	Hall 5D
Related Pages	Asian Financial Forum: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en
	Meeting Agenda: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en/programme
	Speaker List: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en/speakers

Remarks:

Please bring your business card or press identification card for receiving 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
Media representatives who desire to conduct interviews with the speakers are required to submit their interview requests via email to tleung@yuantung.com.hk or lsong@yuantung.com.hk
Photographers are suggested to use long-focus lenses in the Camera Zone
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided throughout the Forum, which is for reference only. In the event of discrepancies, the original language shall prevail

Highlights of the 19^th Asian Financial Forum

First Day Programme: Monday, 26 January 2026

	Opening Session
Time:	9:00 am to 9:20 am
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Welcome Remarks：	Professor Frederick Ma, Chairman, HKTDC
Opening Remarks:	John Lee, Chief Executive, HKSAR

	Plenary Session I – Fostering Cooperation for Shared Success
Time:	9:30 am to 10:30 am
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, HKSAR Government
Speakers:	Klemen Boštjančič, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Slovenia H.E. Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Treasury and Finance, Türkiye Zou Jiayi, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Scott Morris, Vice-President (East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific), Asian Development Bank

	Presentation on Joint HKTDC and EY Survey
Times:	10:45 am to 11 am
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Speakers:	Jack Chan, EY China Chairman, EY Greater China Regional Managing Partner

	Plenary Session II – Charting the Future of Finance in Times of Uncertainty
Time:	11:00 am to 12:15 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer, Securities and Futures Commission
Speakers:	H.E. Waleed Saeed Abdul Salam Al Awadhi, Chief Executive Officer, Capital Market Authority, United Arab Emirates Rhee Chang-yon, Governor, Bank of Korea Burkhard Balz, Member of the Executive Board, Deutsche Bundesbank Benjamin Hung, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Financial Services Development Council
	Gokul Laroia, Chief Executive Officer Asia, Morgan Stanley

	Keynote Luncheon
Time:	12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Venue:	Grand Hall, Level 3, HKCEC
Welcome Remarks:	Paul Chan, Financial Secretary, HKSAR Government
Opening Remarks:	Wang Shuguang, Vice Chairman of the Board, President and Member of the Management Committee, China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC)
Keynote Speaker:	Dr José Manuel Barroso, Former President of the European Commission; Former Prime Minister of Portugal; Chairman of Advisory Board at Goldman Sachs International

	Panel Discussion on Global Economic Outlook
Time:	2:15 pm to 3:30 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Prof Edward Chen, Honorary Professor, HKU Business School
Speakers:	Sir Douglas Flint, CBE, Chairman, Aberdeen Group plc Kevin Sneader, President, Asia Pacific Ex-Japan, Goldman Sachs Dr Ridha Wirakusumah, Chief Executive Officer, Indonesia Investment Authority Professor Paolo Zannoni, Executive Deputy Chairman and Executive Director, Prada Group Dr Zhu Min, Member of the Senior Expert Advisory Committee of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE)

	Global Spectrum – Pension and Endowment
Time:	2:15 pm to 3 pm
Venue:	The Vision (Hall 5E)
Panel Chair:	Janet Li, Chairman, Hong Kong Retirement Scheme Association
Speakers:	Cuan Coulter, Head of International, State Street Arsa Indaravijaya, Chief Investment Officer, Government Pension Fund, Thailand Lou Lizhou, Chairman, E Fund International Holdings Limited Wilson Zhang, Managing Director, Chair of the Global Equities Management Committee, China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC)

	Panel Discussion on Asset and Wealth Management
Time:	3:45 pm to 4:45 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Amy Lo, Chairman of Global Wealth Management Asia, UBS; Head and Chief Executive, UBS Hong Kong
Speakers:	Lavanya Chari, Head of Wealth and Premier Solutions, International Wealth and Premier Banking, HSBC Stefanie Drews, President and Chief Executive Officer, Amova Asset Management Ed Huang, Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia-Pacific (APAC), Blackstone Private Wealth Dr Levin Wang, Chairman of Private Wealth Management Committee, Huatai Securities Co., Ltd.; CEO, Huatai Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Ltd. Fannie Wurtz, Head of Distribution & Wealth Division, ETFs & Index Business Lines, Chair of Asia, Amundi

	Global Spectrum – Gold Exchange
Time:	4:15 pm to 5:15 pm
Venue:	The Vision (Hall 5E)
Panel Chair:	The Hon Robert Lee, Legislative Council Member (Financial Services Functional Constituency) of the HKSAR
Speakers:	James Emmett, Chief Executive Officer, MKS PAMP SA David Tait, Chief Executive Officer, World Gold Council Cheuk Wong, Head of Macro Trading, Asia; Head of Markets and Securities Services, Hong Kong, HSBC Zhu Jing, General Manager of Global Markets, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd.

	CIO Insights
Time:	5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Kent Chen, Managing Director, Head of Asia Private Equity, Neuberger Berman
Speakers:	Deborah Cunningham, Chief Investment Officer, Global Liquidity Markets, Federated Hermes Vincenzo Vedda, Chief Investment Officer and Member of the Executive Board, DWS Investment GmbH Liu Yang, Chairperson and Chief Investment Officer, Atlantis Investment Management Ltd

Second Day Programme: Tuesday, 27 January 2026

	Breakfast Panel – The Nexus of Capital: Forging the Future Global Marketplace
Time:	8:15am to 9:15 am
Venue:	Grand Hall, New Wing, Level 3, HKCEC
Welcome Remarks:	Mary Huen, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong and Greater China & North Asia, Standard Chartered
Keynote Speech:	Benjamin Hung, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Financial Services Development Council
Panel Chair:	Andrew Weir, Vice Chairman, Financial Services Development Council
Speakers:	Bonnie Chan, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, HKSAR Government Mike Wardle, Chief Executive Officer, Z/Yen Group Jerry Zhang, Global Head of Banks and Broker Dealers & Head of Coverage, GCNA, Standard Chartered Bank

	Global Business Summit (Opening Remarks)
Time:	9:30 am to 9:40 am
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Opening Remarks:	Paul Chan, Financial Secretary, HKSAR Government
Remarks:	Professor Frederick Ma, Chairman, HKTDC

	Global Business Summit (Keynote Speech)
Time:	9:40 am to 9:50 am
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Speakers:	Senior provincial or municipal leaders from the Chinese Mainland

	Global Business Summit (Exploring Chinese Mainland Opportunities)
Time:	9:50 am to 10:05 am
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Speakers:	Senior provincial or municipal leaders from the Chinese Mainland

	Global Business Summit (Business Plenary I - Chinese Mainland Enterprises Going Global)
Time:	10:15 am to 11:20 am
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Remarks:	H.E. Younis Al Khoori, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance, United Arab Emirates
Panel Chair:	Victor Chu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, First Eastern Investment Group
Speakers:	Brian Gu, Vice Chairman and Co-President, XPENG Daniel Li, Vice Chairman, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Li Zhenguo, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Liu Qian, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wusawa Advisory, Inc John Zhang, Chairman and President, Seres Group Co., Ltd. Zhang Qian, Executive Director and President, Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co., Ltd.

	Global Business Summit (Business Plenary II Strategic Collaboration for Shared Growth)
Time:	11:20 am to 12:20 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Remarks:	Liu Haoling, President, China Investment Corporation
Panel Chair:	Lincoln Pan, Chief Executive Officer, Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited
Speakers:	Mohammed Mahfoodh Alardhi, Executive Chairman, Investcorp Dr Herbert Diess, Chairman of Supervisor Board, Infineon AG; Owner, Sun.Venture GmbH Adam Gagen, Global Head of Government Affairs, Revolut Sjoerd Leenart, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, JP Morgan Peder Prahl, Chief Executive Officer, Triton Mishal Ruparel, Chief Commercial Officer, Banking Circle

	Keynote Luncheon
Time:	12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Venue:	Grand Hall, Level 3, HKCEC
Opening Remarks:	Jack Chan, EY China Chairman; EY Greater China Regional Managing Partner
Speakers:	Paul Polman, Business Leader, Investor, Philanthropist

	Global Business Summit (Biomedicine 2026: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities)
Time:	2:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Peter Yan, Director-General, Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises
Speakers:	Dr Paul Burton, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Amgen Dai Hongbin, Vice Chairman, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. Marc Horn, Executive Vice President, Merck Group; President, Merck China Dr Ma Jian, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, XTalPi Dr Varun Sethi, Chief Executive Officer, Clinigen Theresa Tse, Chairwoman of the Board Committee, Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited

	Global Business Summit (Unlocking Opportunities in High Growth Consumer Markets)
Time:	3:45 pm to 4:30 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Marjorie Yang, Chairman, Esquel Group
Speakers:	Nicola Farinetti, Chairman of the Board, Eataly Bertrand Michaud, Culture & International Relations Director, Hermès International

	Global Business Summit (AI Infrastructure: Powering the Intelligent Supply Chain)
Time:	3:30 pm to 4:30 pm
Venue:	The Vision (Hall 5E)
Panel Chair:	Prof Yang Hongxia, Executive Director, PolyU Academy for Artificial Intelligence
Speakers:	Prof Jia Kui, Founder, DexForce Technology Lu Jiangbo, Co founder and Chief Technology Officer, SmartMore Corporation Niall Quinn, Equity Partner and Global Co-Head of Sales, Pictet Asset Management Limited Dr Shen Jianguang, Vice President and Chief Economist, JD.com Group Wen Bing, Co-Executive Director, Board of the Executive Member, Tsinghua Unigroup Zhou Chaonan, Chairman, Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group Company Limited

	Global Business Summit (AI Driven Robotics and Autonomous Technologies Revolutionising Industry)
Time:	4:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Venue:	The Stage (Hall 5B)
Panel Chair:	Dr Allan Wong, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, VTech Holdings Limited
Speakers:	Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President; President of Cloud and Smart Industries Group, Tencent Dr Yao Maoqing, AgiBot Partner, Senior Vice President, President, Embodied Intelligence BU, Zhiyuan Innovation (Shanghai) Technology Yao Tengzhou, Co-Founder, Galbot Zhang Peng, Co-Founder, Director and Vice President, AI² Robotics Co., Ltd.

Media Arrangements: 19^th Asian Financial Forum

To ensure the Forum runs smoothly, we kindly ask all attending media to take note of the following arrangements. Thank you for your attention.

The Stage (Hall 5B)

There are areas that set aside for the press. Please stay within your desired areas for the duration of the Forum.

Camera Zone：Located at the back of the hall, for photographers and for the placement of news cameras (long-lens cameras recommended).
Media Zone： Located at the back left of the hall and back of the Camera Zone. Media members can use their own laptops.

*Free Wi-Fi connection will be provided by the HKCEC

Media Arrangements: Keynote Luncheon (26 and 27 January) and Breakfast Panel (27 January), 3/F Grand Hall, HKCEC (Update Floor Plan)

During the meal breaks for forum participants, media representatives are kindly requested to wait in the media zone for live coverage and light lunch/breakfast outside the venue.
Media personnel are permitted to enter the media zone inside the venue approximately 5 minutes before the start of each address. There will be a dedicated camera zone available for use by press photographers.
It is recommended that print journalists watch the live broadcast from the media zone for live coverage and light lunch/breakfast outside the venue.

On 26 January, during the Keynote Luncheon, speeches are expected to begin at approximately 12:30 pm.
On 27 January, during the Breakfast Panel, speeches are expected to begin at approximately 8:15 am.
On 27 January, during the thematic luncheon session, speeches are expected to begin at approximately 12:30 pm.

Media enquiries

Yuan Tung Financial Relations:

Louise Song	Tel: (852) 3428 5690	Email: lsong@yuantung.com.hk
Tiffany Leung	Tel: (852) 3428 2361	Email: tleung@yuantung.com.hk

HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department:

Johnny Tsui	Tel: (852) 2584 4395	Email: johnny.cy.tsui@hktdc.org
Jane Cheung	Tel: (852) 2584 4137	Email: jane.mh.cheung@hktdc.org
Serena Cheung	Tel: (852) 2584 4272	Email: serena.hm.cheung@hktdc.org

Websites

Asian Financial Forum: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en

Programme: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en/programme

Speaker list: https://www.asianfinancialforum.com/conference/aff/en/speakers