The following is issued on behalf of the Financial Services Development Council:

     The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) and Hong Kong Baptist University today (October 17) jointly hosted a forum to promote career prospects in the financial services industry and to explore the growing career opportunities in Greater China.
 
     Entitled "Starting a Career in Financial Services Industry – Skillsets beyond Finance and Explore Opportunities Working in Greater China", today's forum was the 22nd event under the FSDC's Practitioner Speaker Series. The forum featured the Chief Investment Officer, BEA Union Investment Management Limited, Mr Henry Chan; and the Chief Executive Officer, China and Co-Head of Investment Banking and Capital Markets, Asia Pacific of Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Limited, Mr Mervyn Chow. Both serve as members of the FSDC Human Capital Committee.
    
     Mr Chan shared his experience as a fund manager and highlighted the relevant skill sets required. He said, "We look for candidates who offer skills beyond number crunching. The talents most sought after are those who are communicative, engaging and able to see things in broader perspective. In fact, industry participants come from many different disciplines, not always business and finance. On the other hand, the non-investment roles within the industry such as compliance, investment communications and risk management, which are all fast growing areas demanding a wide spectrum of expertise, create many job opportunities." Mr Chan encouraged more non-finance graduates to join the financial services industry.

     Mr Chow shared his valuable experience of working with exciting companies and entrepreneurs in Greater China and the growing opportunities in the financial services industry for fresh graduates, especially banking. He also discussed the core skills and qualities that contribute to a rewarding career in the financial services industry in Hong Kong.
 
     The FSDC's Practitioner Speaker Series is a project developed between the FSDC and local universities, with speakers from the financial services industry giving talks to university students about 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/Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:00

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