Speech by FS at Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit luncheon (English only) (with photos/video)
******************************************************************************************
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
A very warm welcome to the Investment Summit luncheon.
Like many of you, I am very much looking forward to the fireside chat featuring Larry Fink (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock) and Ken Griffin (Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel).
Before we hear from them, allow me to offer an update of Hong Kong to whet your appetite.
Trekking a shifting terrain
History tells us that the world's great financial centres do not stand still. Their success depends on their ability to serve the economy, anticipate what lies ahead, embrace technological advancement, and adapt to shifting mega trends.
Hong Kong is no exception. Today, once again, we are at a moment of profound transformation - one defined by shifting geopolitics, regional integration, rapid technological advancement and climate challenges. But these are not necessarily headwinds. In fact, they can be powerful tailwinds for those ready to respond with agility and vision.
A renewed role as a super connector
At the heart of our response is an elevated role for Hong Kong as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" - one that connects markets, capital, innovation and opportunity across borders and regions. That role is now being shaped by a few converging forces.
First, a global shift from globalisation to regionalisation. Trade and economic co-operation within regional blocs - like Asia - are gaining momentum. We see this in the expansion of frameworks like the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) and the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), and most recently, the FTA 3.0 between China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). These developments are reshaping global trade and investment patterns, and Hong Kong stands at a strategic position.
Second, many economies are actively seeking diversification in economies, markets, sources of capital, supply chains and others. The Middle East, for example, is increasingly looking eastward. Trade between the Gulf and emerging Asia has been growing at some 7 per cent annually over the past decade or so, and trade between Saudi Arabia and China is expected to surpass that with the West by 2027. These statistics reflect not merely a change in trade flows but a structural shift in strategic orientation and cross-border co-operation.
Third, China's development must be reckoned on multiple fronts. Despite a complex global environment, our country continues to press ahead with high-quality development. The recent Fourth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee has laid out recommendations for the country's 15th Five-Year Plan. It has reaffirmed China's commitment to high-level two-way opening up. It has placed emphasis on technological self-reliance, with strong support for technology and innovation across the entire value chain. And the deep integration of technological innovation with industry development is particularly noteworthy.
All of the above developments are elevating Hong Kong's role as a two-way platform for trade, investments and technological collaboration.
International financial centre
As part of the national strategy, Mainland enterprises are being encouraged to go global in the attempt to reconfigure their supply chain and industry chain. As they do so, they look to Hong Kong not only for capital, but also for a full suite of high-value services.
At the same time, capital is flowing to this part of the world, too.
Investors' optimism has grown particularly since the DeepSeek moment earlier this year - where the technological prowess of China surprised the global investment and tech communities. And their valuation is highly attractive.
Separately, we have noticed strong interest in our capital market from the Global South. They are seeking capital to support their ambitious infrastructure and economic development plans.
The Middle East is a good example. Last year, we strengthened cross-border collaboration with Saudi Arabia through mutual listing of ETF (exchange-traded fund)'s tracking each other's market. Now, we will soon welcome the first Middle Eastern company to list on our stock exchange. In fact, our financial regulators have already signed MOUs with their respective counterparts for cross-border regulatory collaboration, paving the way for more companies to list here or to do a dual listing on both stock exchanges.
Innovation and technology: a new growth engine
Another important development in Hong Kong is our ambition in innovation and technology.
Over the past few years, we have made over HK$200 billion in related investments and laid out a clear strategic roadmap to nurture technology and innovation as a new engine of growth - from supporting basic and translational research, nurturing start-ups, to attracting global and Mainland enterprises and talent to Hong Kong, and rolling out special initiatives to promote advanced manufacturing. The aim is to integrate technology and innovation with industry development.
Our focus is on four key areas, namely AI and data science, biotech, fintech, and new energy and new materials, and the carrier of this vision is the Northern Metropolis.
If I may use AI, one of the key areas of focus, as an example to elaborate further. We adopt a twin-engine strategy: developing AI as a core industry, and promoting AI as an enabler to upgrade traditional sectors. We call this "AI+". Our strategy rests on six pillars: computing power, algorithms, data, application scenarios, capital and talent.
Apart from building a supercomputing centre and experimenting with cross-boundary flows of data and biosamples from the Mainland to Hong Kong, we have been going all out to attract leading companies engaged in cutting-edge technologies. So far, we have attracted over 100 such enterprises.
This is supported by a vibrant ecosystem of some 4,700 tech start-ups, many of them are based in our Science Park and Cyberport.
As to talent, we have modified the various talent admission schemes since the end of 2022. To date, we have received more than 540,000 applications, approved about 360,000 of them. And more than 240,000 individuals have arrived in Hong Kong.
Of course, these technology companies need capital to scale. Beyond the full spectrum of funding options available, from angel investors to IPOs (initial public offerings), we have established the Hong Kong Investment Corporation as patient capital to channel private capital into sectors that we would like to develop, such as deep tech, biotech and green tech.
Reinventing Hong Kong
Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong's story has always been one of reinventing itself, time and again. We capitalise on our unique strengths under the "one country, two systems" framework, and ride through the waves of changes and challenges with determination, agility and perseverance.
Thank you for walking this journey with us over the years. Your support has been highly appreciated. I wish you all an enjoyable luncheon and a thought-provoking conversation ahead. Bon appétit.
Ends/Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:45
Issued at HKT 16:45
NNNN
