The following is issued on behalf of the Financial Services Development Council:
 
     The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University today (September 30) jointly hosted a forum to give students a closer look at the wide variety of career opportunities in the insurance and wealth management sectors and the rapid development of financial technology (Fintech) in the financial services sector.
 
     Entitled "Hong Kong Insurance Market and Fintech Revolution - What It Means to You", the forum was the 11th event under the FSDC's Practitioner Speaker Series. The Chief Executive Officer of Asia Insurance Co Ltd, Ms Winnie Wong, and the Chief Financial Officer of OrbusNeich Medical Co Ltd, Mr Christophe Lee, who also serve as members of the FSDC New Business Committee, spoke with university students about practitioners' day-to-day work and the application of Fintech in the industry.
 
     Ms Wong introduced the different roles, responsibilities and career options in the insurance sector. She said that apart from traditional insurance, Hong Kong takes a regional leading position in the aspects of marine insurance, aircraft insurance and reinsurance. She also noted that the growth of the industry has created a lot of job opportunities for insurance professionals, which has attracted talents from both Hong Kong and overseas. "Insurance/reinsurance industry is the most well-kept secret and the most misunderstood," she said.
 
     With 25 years of wide-ranging experience in the asset and wealth management sector, and being an adviser to a number of Fintech start-ups, Mr Lee shared his views and insights on how Fintech would impact the financial services industry. Noting that Hong Kong is an excellent platform for established and start-up Fintech companies, he appealed to students to grasp the opportunities. He added that Fintech has offered consumers novel experiences in managing their finances and provided financial institutions with tools to improve their operational efficiency.
 
     The FSDC's Practitioner Speaker Series is a project developed between the FSDC and local universities, with speakers from the financial services industry giving talks to university students about important industry facts and the skill sets required in developing a career in financial services.
 
About the FSDC
 
     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established the FSDC in 2013 as a high-level, cross-sectoral advisory body to engage the industry in formulating proposals to promote the further development of Hong Kong's financial services industry and to map out the strategic direction for development.
 
     The FSDC set up five committees, namely the Policy Research Committee, the Mainland Opportunities Committee, the New Business Committee, the Market Development Committee and the Human Capital Committee, as the five streams of its work.

Ends/Friday, September 30, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:00

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