Message from the CEO
With pandemic-related restrictions fully relaxed, Hong Kong is comprehensively returning to normalcy. This will be a busy year for the AoF, as we, as part of Hong Kong Inc., will spare no effort in spreading the message that Hong Kong is “back”.
Business travels in the financial sector have rebounded significantly. This is creating many opportunities for more exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and international financial circles. In February, we held a very popular Distinguished Speaker seminar with Jon Gray of Blackstone when he was visiting Hong Kong. We also arranged a closed-door roundtable discussion for an IMF team visiting Hong Kong on pertinent macroeconomic risks in the region and globally. Going forward, we expect to see more overseas guests visiting Hong Kong in person and we are most happy to facilitate communication and networking between them and our Members and Friends.
As AoF’s reputation builds up, from time to time we are approached by different organisations for collaboration opportunities. For example, the HKIMR and the IMF Hong Kong SAR office co-organised a popular seminar on “China’s Rebound: Recent Developments and Outlook” in March and more joint events with the IMF have been lined up in April and May. The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) has invited our HKIMR to join its network of think-tanks, and we have agreed to jointly organise a Workshop later this year. We are also organising collaborative events with the Civil Service College on China’s economy in April and with the International Financial Forum, a non-profit organisation based in Beijing, on the future of multilateralism and globalization in the new era of strategic competition and the implications for Asia in May.
Meanwhile, we are expanding our reach in Hong Kong’s financial community so that more up-and-coming talents could benefit from AoF’s leadership development efforts. We are gradually expanding our Membership in phases, and we are going to admit more Members from the fintech and asset management sectors. Meanwhile, the 2023 Financial Leaders Programme (FLP) has admitted a cohort of 24 high-calibre participants from diverse backgrounds. They will go through a 9-month transformative learning and leadership development journey starting from April. Congratulations to all of our 24 FLP participants!
On the research front, we published a timely and popular applied research report on “Cross-boundary Payment and Settlement Systems in the Greater Bay Area” in March 2023. As of February 2023, all published Applied Research Reports have been viewed or downloaded more than 30,000 times. The increase in this statistic over time shows a consistent interest in our research work. And further to the very positive response to the first “Insights from Monetary Research Digest” released in September 2022, we have published the second article in March 2023, focusing on the themes "The Global Transmission of Monetary Policies of Major Economies" and "Assessing the Performance of Green and Sustainable Finance Instruments".
Attracting and developing talents is crucial for Hong Kong’s continued development and competitiveness. To support Hong Kong in this regard, the Academy will continue its endeavour to achieve the mission of serving as a centre of excellence for developing financial leadership.
Kwok-chuen Kwok
CEO, Hong Kong Academy of Finance
March 2023