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The following is issued on behalf of the Financial Services Development Council:
The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) and the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Hong Kong today (March 23) jointly hosted a forum on financial careers in Hong Kong.
Entitled "Life as a Banker", the forum was the ninth event under the FSDC's "Practitioner Speakers Series", which aims to promote understanding of career choices in the financial industry. Today's forum featured the Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Asia-Pacific of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Limited, Mr Peter Wong. He is also a Group Managing Director and member of the Group Management Board of the HSBC Group.
Mr Wong's banking career began in 1980 and he has held a number of positions over the years. Mr Wong shared with over 130 students his views on the skills needed and challenges to be faced in banking's fast-paced and highly regulated market environment. He said that the sector is in need of talented young professionals, with the energy and skills to thrive in the banking industry.
Mr Wong said, "Hong Kong, as an international financial centre, needs a deep pool of talented young people, especially those who have the energy, financial understanding, and the technical skills to thrive in the banking industry. The financial services industry employs over 240,000 people in Hong Kong and nurturing talent is therefore vital for the future of the local banking industry. Having spent most of my career in banking, I believe it is a great profession that offers a huge variety of opportunities to young talent and, for those willing to accept the challenge, a successful and rewarding career."
The FSDC's Practitioner Speakers Series is a project developed between the FSDC and local universities, with speakers from the financial services industry giving talks to university students about the important industry facts and the skill sets required in developing a career in financial services.
About the FSDC
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established the FSDC in 2013 as a high-level, cross-sectoral advisory body to engage the industry in formulating proposals to promote the further development of Hong Kong's financial services industry and to map out the strategic direction for development.
The FSDC set up five committees, namely the Policy Research Committee, the Mainland Opportunities Committee, the New Business Committee, the Market Development Committee and the Human Capital Committee, as the five streams of its work.
Ends/Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:44
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