AI, geopolitics, climate risk and private credit on bankers’ minds at HKMA’s global summit

A potent mix of risks, from geopolitical tension to technology disruptions and climate change, are roiling global financial markets, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). They have increased the need for stronger prudential management to protect market stability.

“Sailing through changes” – the theme for next month’s Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit organised by the city’s de facto central bank – will offer the time and venue for banks and money managers to reflect on the upheavals, after overcoming the shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic, CEO Eddie Yue Wai-man said.

“There are loads of different changes on the global level,” he said in an interview with the Post. “We want to discuss how to navigate these changes and build resilience within the institutions to withstand any shocks. We are seeing geopolitics evolving everywhere, whether about elections or the military conflicts.”

The HKMA will host the full-capacity summit from November 18 to 20 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wan Chai. Hong Kong’s status as a financial hub and a bridge to China’s markets remains attractive as 300 top executives, including the CEOs of HSBC, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, have confirmed their attendance.

China last month discarded its “slow-drip” approach to revive its economy, delivering a stimulus bazooka to rescue the nation’s stock and property markets. The U-turn fuelled Chinese asset prices but stunned investors, many of whom have shunned China on policy inertia.