Opportunity Asia – Destination Hong Kong: Growth Opportunities in the New Era

Asia House and InvestHK are organising a conference in Dubai to discuss Gulf and Hong Kong economic connectivity across various sectors, including financial services, capital markets, technology, and sustainability. This free-to-attend conference will take place on Tuesday 14 November at the Address Sky View in Dubai. See below for our full line up of speakers.

During his visit to the Gulf at the start of 2023, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee emphasised Hong Kong’s dual credentials as a developed, major capital market for GCC businesses and projects, as well as a bridge for GCC investment into mainland China and wider Asia. Technology is another major cornerstone of cooperation with synergies between the GCC’s economic diversification and sustainability plans and the technological expertise and solutions on offer in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

Hong Kong-GCC ties have flourished since John Lee’s visit, with opportunities being created for stakeholders on both sides. Moderated by Asia House Chief Executive Michael Lawrence OBE, this timely conference will convene GCC and Hong Kong government officials, business leaders, and investors to increase knowledge and understanding on how to capitalise on the emerging opportunities inherent in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area as well as expanding GCC-Asian ties.

For the full conference agenda click here.

WELCOMING REMARKS:

Dr Jimmy Chiang

Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion, InvestHK, The Government of Hong Kong SAR

Dr Jimmy Chiang is Associate Director-General of Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the government department responsible for attracting foreign direct investment into Hong Kong. He joined InvestHK in August 2003 and was promoted to Head of Tourism and Hospitality in September 2010. He took up the position of Associate Director-General in April 2015, in which he oversaw six sector specialist teams of the Department. From April 2021, he was in charge of the Business Development Group, overseeing 30+ overseas and Mainland offices, as well as the functions of Consulate and Chamber Engagement, GBA and Mainland Business Development. During 25 May – 7 November 2023, he served as Acting Director-General of the Department

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: 

Joseph Chan

Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, The Government of Hong Kong SAR

Joseph Chan is the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury having been appointed in 2017. Mr Chan has many years of senior executive experience in the banking industry. He was a Managing Director in the Global Markets Division of Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, and was a Managing Director in Financial Markets of Standard Chartered Bank. Prior to joining the Government, Mr Chan held multiple roles in a number of public and professional bodies, including Vice President of the Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts, Director of Hong Kong Securities & Investment Institute, Advisor of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society, as well as a General Committee member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Mr Chan was also a member of the Central & Western District Council. 

PANEL ONE SPEAKERS:

FINANCIAL SERVICES: OPPORTUNITIES FOR GCC INVESTORS

Andy Poon

Hong Kong CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank

Andy Poon is the Chief Executive Officer of First Abu Dhabi Bank, Hong Kong Branch and is also responsible for the management and oversight of business in North East Asia (including Japan and South Korea).  He is a seasoned banker with over 30 years of progressive work experience in the banking industry in regions including Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, Taiwan and Canada.  He was the Greater China CEO of a large Canadian bank before assuming the current role.  He served as a member of the Deposit-taking Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”), providing advisory to the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR from 2016 to 2023.  He is currently an Honorary Advisor of the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers.

Shada El Borno

Managing Director, MENAP Regional Head of Global Subsidiaries, Standard Chartered 

Shada Elborno is the Regional Head of Global Subsidiaries for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP) at Standard Chartered Bank. Holding over 27 years of experience, Shada’s contributions to the industry are widely recognized as she was recently named one of the “Middle East’s Most Inspirational Women in Leadership” at the ME Women Leader’s Summit 2022 and the “Most Impactful Woman Leader of the Middle East” in 2022 & 2023 by the House of Rose Professionals’ Break the ceiling touch the sky®’. Prior to her current role, Shada gained experience from holding positions including Chief of Staff (Global Banking, MENAP), Head of Client Coverage Group (UAE) and Head of Financial Institutions (UAE).  In addition to her work, Shada has spent 5 years serving on the Board of Directors for the Emirates Institute for Banking and Finance.

Salman Mir

Senior Director of Corporate Origination (MNCs and International Corridors), Mashreq Bank

Salman is a Senior Director within Mashreq Bank’s Corporate Origination & Business Development Division based at their headquarters in the UAE. He is leading a team responsible for onboarding Multinational clients across Mashreq’s International footprint including the US, Hong Kong and India as well as our Home Markets in the GCCE. He has over 20 years of well-rounded International Banking experience spanning the UAE, the UK and Pakistan. He has been with Mashreq for over 6 years having previously worked for HSBC, Bloomberg, KBC and Samba Financial Group.

Patrick Bowes

Chief of Investor Relations, Prudential plc

Patrick Bowes is Chief of Investor Relations and has been at Prudential since May 2019. His previous role was as Director of External Communications at Old Mutual plc, having joined them in 2009. Prior to this, he had 15 years of capital markets experience at Bank Of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and BZW. His client base included technology, communication, and retail businesses, as well as a broad range of international financial services. He is a Chartered Accountant and has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University.

PANEL TWO SPEAKERS:

HONG KONG’S TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM: AN ENABLER OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

Alvaro Abella

Managing Director of Technology and Fintech, Gulf Capital

Alvaro Abella is a Managing Director in the Private Equity Team of Gulf Capital. With over 20 years of experience across Europe, the Americas and the MENA region, Alvaro’s work has focused on tech-related investments and spanned across transaction execution, post-acquisition management and advisory roles. Prior to Golf Capital, Alvaro held several positions with companies including Diamond Cluster International Dubai, Value Partners Spa. Italy, and Booz Allen & Hamilton Europe. He subsequently co-founded BECO Holdings, a Dubai-based early-stage investment firm focused on digital businesses in the MENA region, leading local investment into regional leaders such as Careem, Vezeeta and SellAnyCar. Additionally, Alvaro led several co-investment programs alongside existing investors  and international growth investors (mainly US).

Jennifer Chammas

MENAT Regional Head of Sustainability, Global Commercial Banking, HSBC

Jennifer Chammas is based in Dubai and serves as Regional Head of Sustainability for HSBC Commercial Bank “CMB” in MENAT. Her current remit is to support middle market and large corporate customer to accelerate the transition in their own operations and their supply chain, as well as supporting the new economy businesses to grow. Jennifer has 11 years of diverse banking experience with HSBC with roles spanning across private banking, investment banking coverage, trade finance and strategy. She worked across the world in New York, London and currently Dubai. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Finance) from Boston University. In 2018, she graduated in the top 10% of her MBA class at New York University (Stern) where she specialized in Leadership, Change Management and Strategy. Jennifer was born in Lebanon and moved to Boston at the age of 15 due to political turmoil. She is fluent in English, Arabic and French.

Antonio Jimenez

Managing Director and Vice President, Trina Solar Middle East & Africa

Antonio joined Trina Solar in 2019 to set up the regional headquarters in the Middle East and Africa Region. He has an extensive career in the solar industry and has been involved in the power sector since 2000. Prior to this, he worked in several multinationals such as PWC, Innogy SE and Abengoa Solar where he spent a large amount of his career working in all the steps of the value chain of solar power.  He has extensive experience in solar power, IPP projects and renewable energy value chain across Europe, North America, and the Middle East and Africa Region, with more than 8 years in the latter. Antonio holds an engineering degree and an MBA degree from INSEAD graduate business school.

Ali Abulhasan

 Co-Founder and CEO, Tap Payments

Ali Abulhasan’s interest in payments and technology has grown into a continuous road of discovery for over 10 years. Throughout his career working in the oil, banking, and telecom sectors, he always found himself struggling with the complexity of online payments in the region. This is why he founded Tap Payments in 2013: to help enable start-ups and SMEs to accept online payments easily throughout the MENA region. Today Tap serves hundreds of thousands of businesses of all sizes, from small home businesses all the way to large corporations across various industries such as Retail, Food, Insurance, Airlines, Telecom, and many others. 

For more information on this event, please contact Alana Li, Middle East Research Analyst: alana.li@asiahouse.co.uk