Thoughts from the Plane
Jan 13, 2023
10 mins

I’ll start by wishing you all a Happy New Year.

New Year is one of my favorite times of year: it’s a time to reflect, recharge and – most importantly – look forward to 2023. And now as I look out of the plane window at the world below, en route to the World Economic Forum in Davos, I’m excited about what the future will bring.

The World Economic Forum is an opportunity to make a difference

I’m optimistic too because I see so many opportunities to make a difference in tackling the challenges in front of us – the last six months of geopolitical friction, conflict in Ukraine, macroeconomic uncertainty and the lingering effects of the pandemic have reaffirmed the need to come together, create solutions and build a better world.

And that’s what the World Economic Forum is all about.

It’s an opportunity for dialogue between delegates from across the world, a chance to strengthen connections and build new ones, and a platform for new partnerships and initiatives.


New connectivity and new systems for a better world

This year’s meeting is focused on creating new connectivity and new systems to manage geopolitical challenges, tackle climate change, build resilient markets, scale-up new technologies and tap into Asia’s position as the world’s economic centre of gravity.

And that’s where we have an opportunity to make our voice heard, tell our story and make a difference to the world we live in.


Connectivity and resilience is part of our DNA

Connectivity is part of Hong Kong and HKEX’s DNA. It’s what makes us a global superconnector and we want to leverage our connectivity to be part of the global solution to the challenges we face and contribute to making a better world.

We want to showcase the resilience of our markets amid the turmoil of recent times. We finished 2022 as the world’s #3 IPO listing venue, maintaining our position as Asia’s premier international capital raising hub, as well as seeing significant growth in our ETF markets and our role as Asia’s risk management hub.


Exciting initiatives

Further, we also want to talk about the ground-breaking advances we have made to our Connect programmes, the new listing reforms we have proposed to increase the attractiveness of our markets, the progress we have made in promoting board diversity and our launch of Core Climate – Asia’s premier international carbon marketplace – to accelerate the transition to net zero.

I’ll be expanding on all these developments when I join a panel titled ‘Staying Ahead of the Next Recession’ and I’m looking forward to sharing, discussing and debating how to make a better world with my fellow panellists from the world of central banking, financial services and data intelligence.

And the team and I will be joining a host of panels, interviews and keynote events, as well as meeting clients, peers, partners and media leaders at the World Economic Forum in the week ahead.

I’m particularly looking forward to joining 'Hong Kong Perspectives: Connectivity in an Evolving World’ on 18 January where myself and Financial Secretary Paul Chan will take an in-depth look at Hong Kong’s role at the confluence of East and West and the opportunities ahead for Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area.

As in the past, we will provide a steady stream of updates across all of our channels, so watch out for our blogs, videos and photos from the event as we show the world Hong Kong’s resilience as an international financial centre and HKEX’s bright future as a global superconnector.

I look forward to updating you again soon.