Speech by FS at Swiss Business Excellence Night 2026 (English only) (with photos/video)
***************************************************************************************
Your Excellency Mr Daniel Freihofer (Consul General of Switzerland in Hong Kong), Mr Qin Hong (Deputy Director-General of the Policy Research Department of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Ben (Co-President of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong Mr Benjamin Sigg), Benno (Co-President of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong Mr Benno Jaeggi), distinguished guests, friends of Hong Kong, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening. It is a great pleasure to join you for the third Swiss Business Excellence Night, and to help open Swiss Month 2026.
Switzerland and Hong Kong enjoy a long and productive friendship. Last year, our bilateral trade reached some HK$93 billion, up around nine per cent over the previous year. Much of it is a trade in beautiful things: watches, jewellery and precious metals.
The investment story is just as strong. Some 320 Swiss companies operate in Hong Kong, including 70 regional headquarters. They range from banking to insurance, pharmaceuticals and precision engineering, luxury and logistics.
On a personal note, I travel to Davos every January for the World Economic Forum, and so I have enjoyed Swiss hospitality at its warmest and Swiss weather at its coldest. In May this year, I visited Zurich, where I hosted roundtables with Swiss banks, asset managers, family offices and venture investors. I was heartened by their strong interest in Hong Kong as the springboard into the Greater Bay Area and Asia. Each visit renews my respect for how a small, open economy competes on quality, trust and innovation. That is a model Hong Kong understands well.
We meet at a time when geopolitics and technological disruption are reshaping trade and capital flows. As the world looks to Asia for diversification and growth, our country, China, continues to offer vast opportunities for international businesses, with its steadfast commitment to high-level opening up and a consumer market of unmatched scale.
Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan, promulgated in September, sets out how we will connect that opportunity with the world, anchored on "four centres and one hub". Three of the centres build on long-standing strengths: international finance, trade and shipping. The fourth, an international innovation and technology centre, will take shape in the Northern Metropolis, where Hong Kong's research base and international talent meets the Greater Bay Area's strengths in commercialisation and advanced manufacturing.
This positioning creates natural space for collaboration between Hong Kong and Switzerland.
Start with asset and wealth management, where Switzerland and Hong Kong are the world's two leading centres. Technology is now the fastest-growing source of billionaire wealth worldwide, and much of that wealth is being made in Asia. Consider our IPO market. In the first nine months of this year, 116 listings raised more than HK$388 billion, a record for the period, and over half of that came from technology companies in AI (Artificial Intelligence), semiconductors and robotics. Every listing creates new wealth, and new clients for wealth managers.
At the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit earlier this week, I took the chance to meet the heads of some of the world's largest asset and wealth managers. They told me they are optimistic about the prospects here, and are expanding their presence. Switzerland's deep pool of wealth managers have every reason to expand in Hong Kong, as wealth grows in the Chinese Mainland and across Asia.
Then there is an emerging field: gold and commodity trading. As global portfolios become more diversified, demand for gold and commodities is rising. Our vision is to be an integrated market that brings together storage, refining, physical trading and derivatives, supported by efficient clearing and settlement and connected to global and the Mainland markets. Swiss expertise fits naturally into this picture. Valcambi's plan for its first refinery outside Switzerland, together with vaulting services, right here in Hong Kong, is a case in point.
In technology, Hong Kong's strengths, combined with those of the Greater Bay Area, make an attractive case for Swiss businesses, not only to sell here but to engage in R&D (research and development) here. Biotech is a good example, and a field of Switzerland's strength. Hong Kong and Mainland authorities are enabling smoother cross-boundary flows of research data and biological samples, and stepping up collaboration on clinical trials and drug approvals. These will help Swiss pharmaceutical firms bring new treatments to patients more quickly, on the Mainland and internationally.
None of this works without people, so let me turn to education and talent. Your world-class universities, ETH Zurich among them, are welcome to partner with ours and find a home in the University Towns we are building in the Northern Metropolis. Beyond technology, Switzerland sets the global standard in hospitality, and as Hong Kong raises its game in tourism and mega events, that expertise, and Swiss talent more broadly, is most welcome here.
For Swiss businesses, my message is simple: Hong Kong is the place to scale in Asia. The singular advantage of the "one country, two systems" framework is as strong as ever, and this city enjoys the staunch support of the Central Government.
Just as important, China's own door keeps opening wider. At the same Investment Summit I mentioned earlier, Vice Premier He Lifeng said the country will continue to expand high-level opening up, and invited all parties to share in the new opportunities of Chinese modernisation. Indeed, at home, the Central Authorities have made great strides to stimulate and strengthen domestic demand. For Swiss businesses, Hong Kong will continue to be your gateway to this vast and growing market.
Beyond business, Hong Kong has a keen appetite for the finer things in life. We take our watches, chocolate and cheese seriously, and Swiss products found their target market here long ago. A Swiss watch is still the preferred way for a Hong Kong banker to mark a bonus. As wealth grows across the region, there is room for much more: art, design, gastronomy and everything else that carries the Swiss mark of quality.
Let me thank the Consulate General of Switzerland and the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong for bringing us together tonight. The Swiss Chamber has represented the Swiss business community here since 1982. Your work in building bridges, nurturing young professionals and championing innovation and sustainability through the awards tonight is deeply appreciated.
From the Alps to Victoria Harbour, our partnership is built on the pursuit of excellence and a shared belief in open markets. May Swiss Month be a great success, and may the music of Montreux carry us through a wonderful evening.
Thank you.
Ends/Thursday, November 5, 2026
Issued at HKT 21:00
Issued at HKT 21:00
NNNN
