The Chief Executive joined world leaders in Davos

Mrs Carrie Lam attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting from 24 to 26 January in Davos, Switzerland, as a speaker at two of the official WEF sessions and joined several other WEF leader events. It was her first appearance as Hong Kong’s Chief Executive at this event which is widely considered to be one of the world’s most important meetings of top international business and political leaders as well as economists, journalists and other key opinion-makers. Under the theme “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”, some 2 500 leaders gathered in the Swiss mountain resort Davos to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world. Her participation in the WEF Meeting was part of a five-day trip to Switzerland.

Mrs Lam used the opportunity of being in Switzerland for the first time in her capacity as Chief Executive to meet with senior government officials, and representatives from the financial services, innovation and technology, culture and education sectors in Zurich, Bern and Basel, before heading for Davos. Appreciating the importance that the Hong Kong Government attached to the close partnership between Hong Kong and Switzerland on various fronts, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; and the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, joined most parts of her visit.

With a longstanding excellent working relationship between the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin (HKETO Berlin) and the administration of the City of Zurich, the delegation trip kicked off on 22 January with Mrs Lam and Mr Lau calling on the Mayor of Zurich, Ms Corine Mauch, to brief her on Hong Kong’s latest comprehensive development strategy and planning, as well as the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong released in December 2017 which provides concrete development proposals in various aspects, mapping out smart city development plans for Hong Kong in the next five years and beyond. The Chief Executive further paid a visit to the UBS Wealth Management Micro Ecosystem and Digital Factory to learn more about Fintech application and development. “As an international financial centre with highly developed information and communications technology and a vibrant Fintech ecosystem, Hong Kong is an ideal platform for expanding Fintech business”, Mrs Lam highlighted. The delegation then visited Impact Hub Zurich, a collaborative global community that encourages innovative ideas and assists start-ups; and Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Switzerland’s largest arts school. Based on the successful establishment of a learning centre by ZHdK in Hong Kong in 2014, the Chief Executive looked forward to seeing more collaboration with the University.

On 22 January, HKETO Berlin, in collaboration with the Swiss-Hong Kong Business Association and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, hosted a business luncheon in Zurich. More than 200 guests appreciated the keynote speech in which Mrs Lam pointed out the successful implementation of "One Country, Two Systems" since Hong Kong's return to China 20 years ago and the unique advantages of “Asia’s World City”. She assured that the Government led by her would be proactive in boosting connectivity, strengthening traditional industries, developing new industries, improving the business environment, enhancing the standard of living and promoting the economic development of Hong Kong to grasp the huge opportunities brought about by the national Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. She invited Swiss enterprises to make use of Hong Kong as a platform to access the Mainland market.




On 23 January, the Chief Executive met with the Vice-President of the Swiss Federal Council and Finance Minister, Mr Ueli Maurer, to exchange views on various financial issues, including the future development of the two financial centres, the opening up of the financial markets in Mainland China, Fintech and international tax co-operation. Mrs Lam and Mr Maurer witnessed the signing of three Memoranda of Understanding on strengthening collaboration in financial markets, Fintech and promotion of private wealth management between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Swiss authorities, as well as between the trade representatives of both places. Mrs Lam then met with the Chief Executive Officer of the Roche Group, Dr Severin Schwan. She emphasised that the Hong Kong Government was working to facilitate more research and development (R&D) activities and encouraged Roche to conduct more researches in Hong Kong. The delegation from Hong Kong further visited Technologiepark (Technology Park) Basel ,and then met the President of the Government of the Canton of Basel-Stadt, Ms Elisabeth Ackermann, sharing her experience in introducing Art Basel to Hong Kong, which has quickly become a flagship art and cultural event in the city.




At the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Mrs Lam held various bilateral meetings with high level representatives from governments, international organisations, and the business sector, including Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF, Professor Klaus Schwab, and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom (UK), Mr Philip Hammond, to discuss topics of mutual interest and update them on the latest developments of Hong Kong. Mrs Lam further attended two Informal Gatherings of World Economic Leaders on "The Future of the Financial and Monetary Systems" and "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World".

On top of this, the Chief Executive addressed the WEF session on "Asia Works: The Fourth Industrial Revolution". She said, “Hong Kong is also embarking on the journey of its own fourth industrial revolution to diversify the economy and to boost further development in various areas through the application of innovation and technology, including Fintech, Biotech, Edutech, smart city and Gerontech”. Mrs Lam was optimistic about the development of Asia in the fourth industrial revolution. She added that the Belt and Road Initiative would further link up Asia and all other countries along the Belt and Road and enable them to complement each other to boost growth and exchanges.

Together with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Ms Christine Lagarde; the Governor of the Bank of England, Mr Mark Carney; the Governor of the Bank of Japan, Mr Haruhiko Kuroda; and the Chief Executive Officer, Asset and Wealth Management of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mrs Mary Callahan Erdoes, Mrs Lam spoke at another panel on "Global Economic Outlook", which was moderated by the Associate Director and Chief Economics Commentator of The Financial Times, Mr Martin Wolf. Mrs Lam emphasised that Hong Kong, as a small and externally-oriented economy, was amongst one of the freest and most competitive economies in the world. She said that the city had benefited from the world's economic recovery and would strengthen its economic foundation to seize the many opportunities arising from China's and Asia's economic development. Mrs Lam concluded her speech in Davos with an upbeat global outlook and a call for action - “As the world is seeing some driving forces for growth, the opportunity should be taken to improve governance, focus on trade rules, strengthen regulatory collaboration and put in place sound social policies to address poverty, income disparity and the lack of opportunities for the young people. My Government will embrace those values to put in place necessary social policies, making timely investment in education, enhancing connectivity with the rest of the world, in particular, with ASEAN, to boost social development in various areas.”