Asian Financial Forum Opens with Record Attendance
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The seventh Asian Financial Forum opened today and continues through tomorrow at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre |
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HKTDC Chairman Jack So |
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Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive CY Leung |
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President of the Eurogroup and |
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President |
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Managing Director |
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Executive Director |
3 January 2014 – Some 2,400 business leaders and senior government officials from around the world are in Hong Kong for the seventh Asian Financial Forum (AFF), which opened today and continues through tomorrow at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Delegations of senior executives from Australia, Canada, the Chinese mainland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States are among those taking part in the Forum.
Asia: Powering World Growth
With the global economy continuing to shift to the East, prospects on the Chinese mainland and throughout the Asian region will dominate the two-day forum, as Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Chairman Jack So underlined this morning. “You’re here because, undoubtedly, Asia has proven to be vital – to the global economy and world financial system, and to your business bottom line,” said Mr So. “Led by the Chinese mainland and, increasingly, ASEAN, this region has emerged, in recent years, as the world’s economic and financial engine. Which is why “Asia: Powering World Growth,” is the theme of our seventh Forum.”
Hong Kong: the Connector
Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive CY Leung also spoke this morning, stressing Hong Kong’s role as a “connector of people and markets from East and West.” He illustrated this by noting that Hong Kong “is the largest offshore renminbi-financing centre in the world” today. He added that Hong Kong “is the main conduit for the flow of renminbi capital and, perhaps more importantly, the flow of information on developing and expanding renminbi business around the world.”
The forum’s opening session focused on Asia’s growing role in the global economy. Session speakers were: Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of the Eurogroup and the Netherlands’ Minister of Finance; Alexey Moiseev, Deputy Finance Minister of Russia; and Takehiko Nakao, President of the Asian Development Bank. Today’s luncheon speaker was Dr Alan Bollard, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat.
100+ Speakers
More than 100 speakers are participating in this year’s Asian Financial Forum. Timothy Geithner, United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2009 until January 2013, will be the keynote speaker at the Forum’s 14 January luncheon. Other prominent speakers include:
- Paul M Achleitner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Deutsche Bank AG
- Ding Xuedong, Chairman and CEO, China Investment Corporation
- Do Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Finance, Vietnam
- Fu Yuning, Chairman, China Merchants Group
- Jih-Chu Lee, Chairperson, Bank of Taiwan
- Robin Li, Chairman, CEO and co-founder, Baidu Inc
- Carlo Mazzi, Deputy Chairman, Prada S.p.A.
- Alexey Moiseev, Deputy Minister of Finance, Russia
- Klaus Regling, Managing Director, European Stability Mechanism
- Tu Guangshao, Executive Vice Mayor, Shanghai
- Fiona Woolf, Lord Mayor, City of London
- Levin Zhu, President and CEO, China International Capital Corporation Ltd
Workshop Themes
Second-day highlights include a series of thematic workshops. These will examine opportunities ranging from the liberalisation of the mainland’s financial market to private wealth management, captive insurance, Islamic finance, ASEAN, free trade zones, Qianhai, opportunities in natural resources and energy, and Chinese outbound investment. (Session summaries will be available at the end of each day via: http://www.asianfinancialforum.com/en/info_summaries.htm)
Financial Matchmaking
Also on day two, the AFF Deal Flow Matchmaking Session offers some 350 one-to-one meetings between investors and businesses looking for investment. They will include dedicated matching between Chinese corporate investors and international project owners looking for mainland capital.
Networking and Global Investment
The Forum’s Networking Lounge serves as a resource and hospitality centre. New this year, the Global Investment Opportunities zone, located inside the lounge, spotlights investment opportunities in Australia, Canada, the Philippines, Russia, Spain and the US. In addition, nearly 30 sponsors and exhibitors, covering sectors ranging from the media to financial services and national investment promotion agencies, have set up in the lounge.
International Financial Week
The AFF is the anchor event of International Financial Week and its 10 finance-related events. Highlights include the Asia Private Equity Forum, the Asia PKI Consortium International Symposium and the annual International Conference on the Chinese Economy. More than 3,000 people are expected to take part in the week-long activities.
Launched in 2007, the AFF is Asia’s premier annual financial and business event. The Forum is organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government and the HKTDC.
Websites: www.asianfinancialforum.com; http://www.internationalfinancialweek.com
Video: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBrAaPzPW6Upnypc-YEOSofSBmKBYyDvs
Media Enquiries
The AFF Media Centre will be located in rooms S426-427. For more information, please contact the HKTDC's Corporate Communication Department:
Joe Kainz Tel: (852) 2584 4216 Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org
About the HKTDC
A statutory body established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is the international marketing arm for Hong Kong-based traders, manufacturers and service providers. With more than 40 global offices, including 12 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China and throughout Asia. The HKTDC also organises trade fairs and business missions to connect companies with opportunities in Hong Kong and on the mainland, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and online. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com.