Calvin, Carrie, S.Iswaran, Wen Guohui at Smart Asia Night

During the World Economic Forum 50th Annual Meeting in Davos, a signature event with the theme: “Smart Asia: Connecting Greater Bay Area with ASEAN”, organized by AMTD Group, a leading comprehensive financial institution in Asia, as well as the only Hong Kong financial institution that is a World Economic Forum Strategic Partner Associate, was successfully held at AMTD House, 66 Promenade in Davos. Keynote speeches were delivered by Mrs. Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, Mr. S. Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information and the Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Mr. Wen Guohui, Mayor of Guangzhou, and Mr. David Aikman, Chief Representative Officer - China and Member of the Executive Committee of World Economic Forum. Tan Sri Dato' David Chiu, Chairman of Far East Consortium, Vice-Chairman of the Social and Legal Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Vice-Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, Mr. Shou Zi Chew, Senior Vice President, President of International and CFO of Xiaomi Corporation, Dr. Tan Eng Chye, President of National University of Singapore, Dr. Annie Koh, Vice President of Business Development, V3 Group Professor of Family Entrepreneurship and Professor of Finance (Practice) of Singapore Management University, Dr. Feridun Hamdullahpur, Director of AMTD Group & AMTD International and President of Unversity of Waterloo Canada, Merlin Swire, Chairman of Swire Pacific Limited, Sam Swire, Director of John Swire & Sons Limited, and Mr. Andrew Chiu, Vice-Chairman of AMTD International Inc. (NYSE: HKIB) and Executive Director of i-Cable Communications Limited (1097.HK), also attended as special guests to witness the achievements of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in connecting the ASEAN countries and promoting digital technology innovation and global connectivity. More than 300 leaders from political, business, academia, and media from different countries and regions around the world also joined the event. This is also the first in-depth discussion of innovative digital technology cooperation between the Greater Bay Area and the ASEAN countries at Davos.

Mr. Calvin Choi, Chairman and CEO of AMTD Group, Young Global Leader of World Economic Forum, Vice-Chairman of Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Fund, Chairman of the Greater Bay Young Entrepreneurship Association, Member of Hong Kong Cyberport Advisory Panel, delivered an opening speech. “In the era of the smart economy, every business sector in the society must rethink how we better integrate technology and innovation, how to make our society smarter and more efficient, and improve the life for everyone. AMTD has successfully established a unique AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, empowering partners to connect from China to the ASEAN countries and the world stage through Hong Kong, creating synergy for global connectivity. We believe in the power of smart technology to build a cohesive and sustainable world.”

Mrs. Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, welcomed this initiative of the Greater Bay Area connecting with ASEAN, during her officiating speech. She mentioned that many have been done between Hong Kong and ASEAN in the last two and half years with the signing and coming into effect of the Free Trade Agreement between Hong Kong and ASEAN and also the establishment of a third Hong Kong economic and trade office in ASEAN based in Bangkok. She said that we have this wonderful opportunity of bringing together two major regional developments with Hong Kong – Greater Bay Area and the ASEAN. Being the gateway to connect these two strategic regional developments is a huge encouragement to Hong Kong. In the future, Hong Kong will maintain cooperative dialogues with various global partners, and better serve as an important strategic channel, connecting the Greater Bay Area with the ASEAN countries more closely, and promoting the innovative development of the global economy. She was also gratified to have a homegrown financial institution such as AMTD which achieved tremendous growth and success; and extended appreciation to AMTD’s efforts in promoting Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

Mr. S. Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information and the Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, said that the “AMTD - Smart Asia” event connects Greater Bay Area and the ASEAN countries. Both regions have significant potentials, populations that are eager to do more, build wealth, and realize various dreams. He is also delighted with AMTD and Xiaomi, National University of Singapore and Singapore Management University’s joint efforts in promoting and cultivating talents of technology and innovation. He is looking forward to building more bridges and stronger partnership between two regions.

Mr. Wen Guohui, Mayor of Guangzhou, thanked AMTD for its support to Guangzhou, and reviewed the joint efforts and achievements of Guangzhou and Hong Kong in advancing the construction of the Greater Bay Area. He mentioned that Hong Kong and Guangzhou are important hubs in the Greater Bay Area where Hong Kong acts as an international financial, shipping and trading center, and Guangzhou acts as the national historical and cultural center and one of the major economic cities. Each plays an irreplaceable role. Guangzhou will work with cities in the Greater Bay Area, including Hong Kong, to jointly promote the construction and development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and achieve newer heights.

Mr. David Aikman, Chief Representative Officer of China and Member of the Executive Committee of World Economic Forum, said that diversity is the driving factor for high-quality growth and innovation, which are key to the development of the Greater Bay Area. Greater Bay Area is one of China's most diverse regions, with two special administrative regions, each having different standards, traditions and cultures, blending the Chinese culture and Western traditions together. He added that we are evolving from a multi-polar world into a multi-conceptual world - different countries, different regions, different cities have different concepts of the way in which their technology should be governed, their economies should be structured. And particularly this richness helps move the world forward. He added that if Greater Bay Area can have all of the different stakeholders of society work together to bridge their differences, connecting the Greater Bay with the ASEAN countries can be tremendously powerful in bringing innovation, entrepreneurship, high-quality economic growth, environmental sustainability, and inclusive social benefits between and across the regions.

Witnessed by Mr. S. Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information and the Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, and Mr. Calvin Choi, Chairman and CEO of AMTD Group, Dr. Timothy Tong, CEO of AMTD Foundation, Mr. Shou Zi Chew, Senior Vice President, President of International and CFO of Xiaomi Corporation, Dr. Tan Eng Chye, President of National University of Singapore, Dr. Annie Koh, Vice President of Business Development, V3 Group Professor of Family Entrepreneurship and Professor of Finance (Practice) of Singapore Management University, jointly signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the “Singapore Digital Finance Leadership Programme” with the objective of nurturing aspiring digital finance leaders in Asia.

This is the third year the AMTD House hosted its signature events in Davos. It is also one of the rarest yet very impactful events hosted by a Hong Kong enterprise on the global stage at the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings at Davos. These signature events have become iconic annual events of AMTD in Davos. During the 2018 and 2019 World Economic Forum Annual Meetings at Davos, AMTD successfully held the "Hong Kong Night" and "Greater Bay Night" events, showcased to global political and business leaders the brilliance and glory of the Pearl of the Orient; and the immense momentum and charm of the Greater Bay Area, respectively.