The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     A delegation of participants of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF) Financial Leaders Programme (FLP) completed the inaugural FLP field trip to Shenzhen from September 24 to 27.

     A total of 30 participants from both 2022 and 2023 FLP cohorts met with senior executives from leading Fintech firms, including Alibaba Cloud, Micro Connect, OneConnect (an associate of Ping An Group), Ping An E-wallet, Tencent, and WeBank. During face-to-face dialogues and immersive experiences in multiple showrooms, the FLP cohorts learned more about the latest Fintech development centring around artificial intelligence and blockchain.

     They also met with Shenzhen Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau, Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Financial Technology Institute. The fruitful exchanges with the authorities deepened the FLP cohorts' understanding of the latest policy thinking and future developments of the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The FLP cohorts also discussed how Hong Kong's financial services industry can further promote and contribute to the developments of the GBA.

     Chief Excutive Officer of the AoF, Mr Enoch Fung, said, "This is the first field trip for the FLP, which aims at widening participants' horizons on key strategic areas and expanding their professional network in the GBA. It also seeks to deepen the exchanges between practitioners of the financial markets of the two places. I am glad that both the FLP participants and the receiving institutions found the visit fruitful, and we hope to continue to organise other field trips under FLP in the future."

About the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF)
     The AoF was set up with full collaboration amongst the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission, the Insurance Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority. It aims at facilitating financial talents' development and fostering collaboration for applied researches.

About the Financial Leaders Programme (FLP)
     Launched in 2022, the FLP is a programme to inspire Hong Kong's future financial leaders (currently around two levels below the Chief Excutive Officer (CEO) position), equip them with a mindset to lead and to look at issues from macro perspectives, as well as expand their network. Participants are nominated by their CEOs. The 2024 intake will open for application around late October 2023.  

Ends/Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Issued at HKT 20:00

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