SFST visits Germany and Switzerland

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, visited Germany and Switzerland in late October. In Frankfurt, Germany’s financial centre, he visited Plug and Play Fintech Centre, a global innovation platform specialising in growing technology startups; and Ginmon Wealth Management, a company that had developed an algorithm-based portfolio management technology.

He also paid a courtesy call on the Chinese Consul General to Frankfurt, Mr Wang Shunqing, and attended a business luncheon co-organised by HKTDC together with HKETO Berlin.

In Zurich, he met several representatives of important players of the Swiss financial industry – among them the Swiss Bankers Association, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the Crypto Valley Association, the Swiss FinTech Innovation Laboratory, and Credit Suisse – to discuss Fintech solutions for Asia and opportunities brought by the stock connect schemes and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He also addressed a business luncheon co-organised by the Swiss-Hong Kong Business Association and the HKETO Berlin on development opportunities for Swiss financial institutions in Hong Kong. On the occasion of the Swiss International Financial Forum (SIFF) Inspiration Dinner he had an exchange with the Swiss Federal Councillor and Minister of Finance, Mr Ueli Maurer, on strengthening bilateral co-operation between Hong Kong and Switzerland. The following day (October 25), Mr Lau took part in the SIFF and delivered a keynote speech on "40 years of reform and opening up in China: A Hong Kong Perspective".

Under the theme "Towards a New Balance – Collaboration, Courage, Trust", this year's forum has invited seasoned experts from Switzerland and abroad to discuss the new reality in the finance sector and explore possible future scenarios on the financial market. Before concluding the visit, Mr Lau attended a dinner hosted by the Chinese Consul-General in Zurich, Dr Zhao Qinghua.