The Bloomberg Global Regulatory Forum Makes its Hong Kong Debut

Regulators and International Leaders Convene for In-Depth Discussions on New Regulatory Initiatives and Opportunities

Hong Kong – Bloomberg hosted its third Global Regulatory Forum in Hong Kong earlier this week, marking the first time the event had been held in Asia. Hong Kong SAR Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Eddie Yue, Securities and Futures Commission CEO Julia Leung, and Capital Market Authority (CMA) of Saudi Arabia Chairman HE Mohammed Bin Abdullah El-Kuwaiz, gathered together with more than 200 influential international leaders from across the financial services and business communities, as well as the regulatory community, to discuss key sector trends, opportunities and challenges around international collaboration, sustainable finance, artificial intelligence and virtual assets, among other topics.

In his opening keynote speech, Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR, said: “The robustness and security of our financial system against external shocks had been acidly tested. Financial security remains one of our top priorities, and we have been working with regulators to closely monitor the latest developments and potential risk areas in the financial market through a cross-market, round-the-clock surveillance system. In the realm of financial services, we have determination and commitment to boost the liquidity of the stock market by a combination of measures, by bringing enhancements to our listing regime, market structure, trading mechanism, mutual market access arrangements with the Mainland, and attracting both international and Mainland capital. We continue to pursue other measures to further strengthen our role as a super-connector between the Mainland and the rest of the world.”

Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said in his speech: “Given the incidents that we have witnessed over the past year, robust regulation is more important than ever to the longer-term growth of our market.  HKMA’s three key development focus has been Mainland China, technology and innovation, and also green and sustainable finance, and we have been working very closely with the mainland authorities to expand our product offerings including various Connect initiatives. In regards of digital innovation in finance, Hong Kong regulators have developed a comprehensive framework for the regulation of virtual asset activities, and will roll out various components gradually. Sustainable finance is also a development area that will benefit from regulation. Hong Kong is the first Asian jurisdiction mandating TCFD-aligned climate-related disclosure across all financial sectors by 2025, and the HKMA and SFC are working together to align relevant local requirements with the global baseline of the International Sustainability Standard Board.”

During a conversation regarding ESG and Technology Innovation – entitled “From harnessing Risks to Pivoting to New Opportunities”, Julia Leung, CEO of SFC, announced the SFC’s support of developing a voluntary code of conduct for environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings and data products providers in Hong Kong. The Voluntary Code of Conduct (VCoC) will be developed via an industry-led working group, namely the Hong Kong ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers VCoC Working Group.

Bing Li, Head of APAC at Bloomberg, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to bring this forum of innovators and policymakers to Asia for the first time. It’s not often enough that regulatory leaders and the private sector can come together and devote real time to thinking about our shared challenges and the ways that both groups can work together to face the future. At Bloomberg, we embrace our role in supporting policymakers, regulators and our clients around the world as they respond to change. Working with both regulators and the sectors they regulate, we see the common agenda that both groups share. We host Global Regulatory Forum in large part to bring these shared challenges to light.”

The Bloomberg Global Regulatory Forum is a flagship annual event that covers a diverse range of public policy and economic issues. The Forum connects government officials, policymakers and regulators with business leaders to discuss critical policy matters that impact markets, industries and company strategies. Click here to watch the replay of the Bloomberg Global Regulatory Forum 2023.

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