Inaugural Global Business Summit Brings Global Leaders Together to Drive Finance-Industry Integration (with photos)
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The GBS was held on the second day of the annual flagship event, the Asian Financial Forum. It was jointly organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. With over 3 500 global leaders in attendance, the event highlighted Hong Kong's unique role as a "Super Connector" and "Super Value-Adder," further solidifying the city's position as international financial and innovation and technology (I&T) hubs.
Echoing the theme of "Finance Empowering Business," the GBS focused on strategies for financial–industrial integration and the latest market trends. Discussions included life and health technology, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, new energy, fintech, and other fast-growing sectors. Participants explored how cross-sector collaboration can generate synergies, drive industrial upgrading, and leverage Hong Kong's strength as a financial and trading centre to support Chinese Mainland enterprises in going global. This collaboration also aims to attract more international capital to reinforce and foster ecosystem development, strengthening Hong Kong's role in finance and innovation.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, stressed the importance of Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre. He noted that empowering industries through finance would foster deeper integration and collaborative development between finance and industry. He stated in his opening remarks "Looking ahead, trade, finance and innovation and technology will be the three principal drivers of our economic growth." Mr Chan pointed out that tailored incentive packages, such as land grants, premium concessions, tax incentives and other facilitation measures, would be prepared to welcome technology enterprises to establish a presence in the Northern Metropolis.
OASES, as a co-organiser of the GBS, actively engaged with global leaders from existing and potential strategic enterprises across various sectors, including AI & Data Science, fintech, advanced manufacturing and new energy technology, and life and health technology, enabling them to exchange ideas as guest speakers and provide professional and diverse industry perspectives.
The Director-General of OASES, Mr Peter Yan, said, "The successful debut of the GBS fully demonstrates Hong Kong's unique status as both the global financial and I&T hubs. The GBS has become an important platform for international collaboration, underscoring Hong Kong's strategic role in driving deeper integration between finance and industry, and providing global enterprises with new opportunities to explore and unlock value."
Since its establishment, OASES has actively promoted Hong Kong's unique advantages and policies, successfully attracting more than 100 strategic enterprises to set up in the city. These enterprises are expected to bring in approximately HK$60 billion of investment and create more than 22 000 quality jobs, further strengthening Hong Kong's position as an I&T hub.
Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, a leading global innovative pharmaceutical enterprise, actively participated in the GBS and joined the thematic panel titled "Biomedicine 2026: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities". The panel provided an in‑depth analysis of the latest developments in the global biomedical technology industry and examined the opportunities and challenges facing by the sector. Topics covered included cutting‑edge scientific breakthroughs, transformation in clinical application, regulatory changes, and how cross-sector collaboration can drive continuous innovation in life and health technology.
The Vice Chairman of Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, Mr Dai Hongbin, said, "Hengrui places significant importance on Hong Kong's strategic position in the international innovation ecosystem. We are excited to enhance our collaboration with OASES to drive advancements, promote breakthroughs in biomedical technology through research, clinical practice and industrialisation, while actively contributing to the development of Hong Kong's innovation ecosystem." He also noted that the GBS serves as a stage for pharmaceutical enterprises to share knowledge on life and health science and medical innovation from various perspectives, fostering collaboration across sectors and global resource integration.
Vice President and Chief Economist of JD Group, Dr Shen Jianguang, joined a thematic panel discussion titled "AI Infrastructure: Driving Intelligent Supply" with other distinguished guests. The session delved into strategies for the practical use of AI technologies, investment priorities, and fostering industrial collaboration. It explored the growing importance of AI infrastructure as a key component of intelligent supply chains, smart manufacturing, and innovative business models, and its significant impact on the global industrial landscape.
Dr Shen noted that Hong Kong provides a vibrant and highly internationalised environment for AI enterprises, enabling them to expand their businesses and drive innovation. He emphasised that the GBS is a valuable platform that promotes the exchange of ideas and cross‑sector collaboration, while also creating important opportunities to explore new growth and advance industrial upgrading.
Dr Shen said, "With the rapid development of AI infrastructure, Hong Kong plays a greater role in data science, fintech and smart manufacturing, serving as a strategic hub linking the Chinese Mainland with international markets. We look forward to deepening co-operation with OASES through the GBS, driving the application of AI technologies across broader industrial scenarios, and contributing to the continued growth of Hong Kong's innovation ecosystem."
Moving forward, OASES will continuously align with the National 15th Five‑Year Plan to elevate Hong Kong's status as a leading international hub for finance, shipping, trade, and innovation and technology. OASES will continue to leverage Hong Kong's unique role as a "Super Connector" and "Super Value‑Adder" to accelerate growth in finance and I&T, and deepen global interactions. OASES will continue to attract high-potential technology enterprises to set up in Hong Kong and support them to thrive globally through our city. This initiative is designed to drive significant advancements in key emerging industries: AI & Data Science, fintech, life and health technology, advanced manufacturing and new energy technology, and cultural and creative technology. Ultimately, these efforts are intended to further solidify Hong Kong's competitive position as a global I&T hub.
Ends/Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 23:08
Issued at HKT 23:08
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