Exclusive | Global Investment Summit: HSBC fills Credit Suisse’s Hong Kong void by hosting 2,800-person conference

The HSBC Global Investment Summit, to be held April 8 to 10, will create a platform for participants to better understand the opportunities and issues in financial markets, Surendra Rosha, co-CEO for Asia-Pacific, said in an interview. The Hong Kong Sevens, a rugby competition the bank cosponsors with Cathay Pacific, preceded the summit.

The event will be at an “unprecedented scale” with an expected attendance of more than 2,500 market professionals and 300 corporate executives, he added. Some 5,000-odd meetings are being arranged for attendees to explore ideas and issues in technology, sustainability, climate change and the Asia-Middle East corridor, among others.

“It’s a privilege for us to be able to host this event,” Rosha said. “This conference is really about giving a platform for people to connect, to understand what is going on across the world and across the financial markets, [and] also to think about new networks that are being created.”

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This week’s summit will allow the UK-based lender to further boost its leadership in Hong Kong, its single largest market globally. The city contributed US$10.7 billion or 35 per cent to the group pre-tax profit in the most-recent quarterly results, and the most in deposits, assets, card spend, insurance and cash management.

Hong Kong’s connectivity, both globally and to mainland China, has helped expand its market share in trade over the last three years, according to HSBC, while new-to-bank customers in Hong Kong increased by 36 per cent, thanks to the return of mainland visitors after the end of China’s zero-Covid policy.

Thus, there is no better place to host the summit than in Hong Kong, said Rosha, who was appointed as co-CEO with David Liao in June 2021 to oversee the business in Asia-Pacific, replacing Peter Wong Tung-shun.

Mainland customers spent US$7.6 billion on Hong Kong insurance policies in 2023

Hong Kong’s role as a connector and as a medium for the world to do business with China, and vice versa, “remains very strong,” he added. While China faces several headwinds, the economy still offers “tremendous opportunities”.

“There are some really incredible companies that are innovating at scale [in China] that are bringing brands to the rest of the world,” he said, citing renewable energy and the electric-vehicle space as key areas of opportunities.

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“From small and medium enterprises, to large companies that want to settle across borders, the ability to do that through a set CBDCs would allow for faster settlement, lower costs and greater transparency,” Rosha said. “So we’re really excited by that.”

The HSBC Global Investment Summit will also feature Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh, Macquarie Group Asia CEO Verena Lim, Temasek Holdings CEO Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, and Kering Greater China president Jinqing Cai among the speakers.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chairperson Laura Cha and the Securities and Futures Commission CEO Julia Leung, will also speak to investors at the summit.

The investment summit and Hong Kong Sevens follow a flurry of high-profile events, such as Wealth for Good and One Earth Summit, to woo investors. Since 2019, social unrest, Covid-19 curbs, a national security law and geopolitical tensions have dented the city’s financial markets and appeal as a global financial hub.