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The following is issued on behalf of the Advisory Committee on Human Resources Development in the Financial Services Sector:
Tripartite cooperation between the market practitioners, academia and the government was important to ensure that Hong Kong bred, attracted and retained the best financial talents, the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Ms Julia Leung, said today (December 8).
Speaking at a high-level workshop co-organised by the Advisory Committee on Human Resources Development in the Financial Services Sector (FinMan Committee) and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Ms Leung said that human resources were of utmost importance to the success of any city in a highly competitive world, and we must continue to nurture and retain a quality and resilient workforce, especially in the financial services industry which underpinned Hong Kong's success as an international financial centre.
Carrying the theme "Developing Financial Talent for the Next Decade ¡V A Tripartite Approach", the workshop provided a forum for the industry, the tertiary institutions and the Government to exchange ideas on how the three parties should adapt and further promote and coordinate their human resources development efforts in face of the changing financial landscape and regulatory environment.
Ms Leung noted that Hong Kong had sailed through a challenging year of global financial crisis, which could be turned into development opportunities for Hong Kong. One of the lessons learnt from the crisis was ¡§the industry was long on financial engineers, but quite short on risk managers who can accurately measure the risks,¡¨ Ms Leung said.
The future growth potential for Hong Kong's financial markets lies in the robust growth of the Mainland, untapped investment grounds for private equities and growing ranks of high net worth individuals. "There are visible signs suggesting that the centre of financial gravity is moving to Hong Kong," Ms Leung said.
¡§As we train our sights on the Mainland market, we should not lose our international form or substance.
¡§It is our international characteristics that distinguish Hong Kong from other Chinese cities to become the preferred place of listing for Mainland firms and the preferred destination for the new rich to manage their wealth, ¡¨ Ms Leung emphasised.
On the strategic position of Hong Kong going forward, Ms Leung noted that in the Policy Address in October this year, the Chief Executive stressed the importance of building three centres ¡V a centre for capital raising, the RMB offshore business centre and an asset management centre.
Summing up the takeaways from a talent development point of view in this post crisis world which is full of uncertainties and opportunities, Ms Leung highlighted that there should be more emphasis on risk culture and risk management in training.
¡§Moreover, we need to train people who can think laterally, strategically with holistic views on markets, and their interconnectedness in a global context.
¡§Lastly, we need to train talents well versed in both the Chinese and international ways to maintain our international markets with Chinese characteristics,¡¨ Ms Leung added.
In today's plenary session of the high-level workshop, three leading practitioners of the financial services sector and the academia shared their insights on the strategic role that Hong Kong should adopt in the face of the challenges and the opportunities emanating from the financial tsunami. They were the Executive Director of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Mr Peter Wong; the Vice President (designate) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Professor Judy Tsui; and the Chief Executive Designate of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Mr Charles Li.
Around 90 participants from the financial services industry, academia, representatives of professional and regulatory bodies as well as the Government also joined the workshop. They were divided into focus groups for discussion on three topics ¡V ¡§How we should position for the opportunities and challenges ahead in the Mainland Market¡¨, ¡§Developing a workforce that meets the needs of a new financial landscape¡¨ and ¡§Tripartite cooperation in talent development for the financial services sector¡¨.
In his concluding remarks, the Chairman of the FinMan Committee, Mr Chan Tze-ching, thanked the speakers for their inspiring and enlightening messages and all those who attended the workshop for their active participation. In summing up the major discussions at the Workshop, Mr Chan said that looking ahead, we should work towards promoting greater collaboration amongst the industry, the academia and the government, maintaining our international characteristics, attracting talents from overseas and enhancing ethical elements in education / training in order to enhance our competitiveness as an international financial centre.
The FinMan Committee was established in June 2000 by the Government to foster better co-ordination of the efforts between the industry and academia on financial services manpower development. It comprises representatives from the Government, the industry, regulators, professional bodies and training providers.
Ends/Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Issued at HKT 20:41
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