Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
On behalf of the Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Academy of Finance, let me extend to you all a very warm welcome to Hong Kong, and to this investment forum on Day 3 of our Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit. We are most delighted to host you here and explore how to “sail through changes”.
This Connect Hall provides the perfect setting for today’s investment forum. I want to tell you a bit of its history. This venue used to be the bustling Trading Hall of our stock exchange since 1986. At its peak, hundreds of trading desks were arranged in concentric circles and nearly 1,000 traders donning bright red vests jostled on red carpets. This is also where hundreds of enterprises strike the iconic Gong to set off the listing journey.
When the last trading desks walked into history seven years ago, the Trading Hall was given a new life in this Connect Hall, which is named after the Stock Connect programme between Mainland and Hong Kong stock exchanges. Only two days ago, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Stock Connect in this very Hall. For the Hong Kong market, the past decade has been a remarkable journey of transformation into a super conduit of capital between Mainland China and the rest of the world.
Good old memories aside, I believe this hall embodies the irresistible forces of change that constantly drive our capital markets forward.
In global markets, the many forces of transformation have continued to reshape our market practices, growth strategies and also regulation. As leading investment managers, you have a knack for identifying evolving market trends to stay steps ahead, seize opportunities, and keep both your firm and investors out of harm’s way. And my job as a regulator shares a similar purpose, to adapt to the shifting landscape through an agile and proportionate regulatory regime.
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