HSBC Global Investment Summit

The inaugural HSBC Global Investment Summit will take place on the 8 to 10 April 2024 in Hong Kong, bringing together over 2,000 delegates to discuss the global trends and topics shaping our world. HSBC’s Global Investment Summit will help you understand our evolving global economic situation.

At a time of profound change and often competing priorities, the HSBC Global Investment Summit allows for an open and frank exchange of thoughts and ideas between world-class experts, political leaders, institutional investors and top decision-makers. Our speakers are offering their unique insights, perspectives and knowledge on a wide range of critical topics affecting the global economy.

Held in the days immediately after the HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, this event is welcoming visitors from all over the world to a truly exceptional global occasion.

The event kicked off with opening comments by HSBC Group Chairman Mark Tucker, who introduced the key topic of the summit – how new networks of influence, finance & trade, and innovation are shaping the global economy.

There was also a welcome address by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR John Lee. He emphasised the strengths of Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre, which acts as a super-connector between Mainland China and the rest of the world. This message was complemented by an outlook from Paul Chan, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, who discussed the city’s mutual market access schemes, green development, innovations in FinTech, and opportunities in wealth management.

The overarching theme for the first day of the summit was the New Networks of Influence, with an emphasis on how the rise of new economic powers is affecting everything from geopolitics to the international flow of capital.

These topics were tied together by historian Niall Ferguson in a talk that showed how evolving networks are shaping the 21st century, focusing on the status of the US dollar as a global currency, the prospects for globalisation, and relations between China and the US.

On the risks, a panel of world-leading experts on international relations discussed how growing geopolitical tensions are creating challenges for business and finance – including a former Head of UK intelligence service MI6, a former Foreign Minister of Singapore, and HSBC’s very own Global Head of Geopolitical Risk.

On the same note, some of the world’s most influential investors shared how they are allocating capital in financial markets that are showing high levels of volatility and uncertainty.

Moving on to opportunities, the afternoon sessions split into three separate streams, exploring the emerging giants that are transforming global business.

As the world’s second-largest economy, China was the focus of one stream, which made a deep dive into how the country is adapting to new economic conditions after the pandemic. Economists and a prominent figure in a Chinese investment firm on the panel discussed topics such as demographics and the direction of government policy and investment. This was followed by a panel that discussed the outlook for China’s technological innovation, and the impact of US-China tensions on Artificial Intelligence (AI) development.

India was also in the spotlight. As the world’s fastest growing major economy, the country is of great interest to the global investment community. How international investors can best take advantage of India’s capital markets, and ongoing efforts to boost financial inclusion through a focus on retail investors, was the subject of a keynote by the Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

There was also a discussion of India’s “wonder years” and what is driving the country’s growth story, featuring the CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India and the Chairman of the International Financial Services Centres Authority of India.

And finally, there was a panel discussion on the promise of ASEAN, with leading Southeast Asian business leaders describing how the bloc works together to benefit from the strengths of its member countries.

Towards the end of the day, Steve Guggenheimer, Non-Executive Director of HSBC Holdings, talked about change is the only constant and how business leaders should become comfortable with the need for continuous transformation in the face technological change.

HSBC Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn set the scene in an opening address, where he highlighted how the rapid pace of change will create both uncertainties and opportunities.

This was followed by a session with Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who shared his vision of how to make globalisation work in the new global order. He emphasised the need to reconfigure the cooperation and connectedness that is necessary to make globalisation succeed.

New investment corridors were a consistent theme throughout the day, especially the growing connections between Asia and the Middle East. A panel of senior financial figures explained how both regions are capitalising on the new connectivity, covering everything from Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).

At one end of this investment corridor is Hong Kong as a global financial centre and gateway to China. We heard from the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on the city’s unique advantages as an international financial centre, while the CEO of the Securities and Futures Commission explained the regulator’s approach to improving the city’s competitiveness.

No discussion of investment is complete without considering US monetary policy, which was addressed by former central banker James Bullard, who shared his outlook for how the Fed might manage policy rates going forward. During a separate panel, top investors detailed the strategies they are using for asset allocation in 2024.

Geopolitics is another essential topic for investors, which was covered by David Petraeus, Partner at KKR and former US General and CIA Director. He gave his perspective on the flashpoints, such as the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as the geopolitical trends that should be on the radar of investment managers.

After lunch, the event broke into three streams. On currencies, economist Barry Eichengreen evaluated the US dollar’s status as a reserve currency in an increasingly multi-polar world, before a panel of digital experts explained where we are in the adoption of digital currencies and assets.

Sustainability was the topic for the next stream, with the Founder of Tesla discussing how safety and reliability will be key factors for the success of electric vehicles, while technology investors described how they put sustainability into action.

The final stream was on economics, with the CEO of Maersk saying he expects an increased level of disruption over the next decade from geopolitics to climate change. In response, he predicted a ‘gradual rewiring’ of global supply-chains towards more agility, resilience and hedging of risk. This was followed by a panel of leading investors highlighting how economic progress in Asia will drive the next wave of consumer growth.

At the end of the day, the Summit covered a wide range of need-to-know topics for business and finance. HSBC’s Stephen King spoke about how economies across the world can digest the sharp increase in government debt in recent years, while a leading academic explained how demographics is not destiny for China. Other topics included realising a just transition in sustainability, the consumer in the post-Covid world with a focus on the travel industry, and the implications of upcoming elections across the world that will see 3.2 billion people go to the polls.

The proceedings began with an introduction by Greg Guyett, CEO, Global Banking & Markets, HSBC. He reflected on the topics of the previous days and set out the day’s key topic: the New Networks of Innovation, which are changing every aspect of how we do business.

He followed this up with a conversation with one of the biggest names in technology.

Bill Gates, the Co-founder of Microsoft, reflected on how he moved from helping create the tech sector to a philanthropist using high-tech solutions to address global problems.

Soon after, HSBC Group Chief Executive Noel Quinn spoke to the current Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, who made a powerful case for the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.

Innovation needs financing, and Robert Kapito, President of Blackrock, shared his views on the investment landscape, how the financial services industry is integrating technology into its business, and the growing role of alternative investments.

Technological progress translates into real improvements into the everyday lives of people. Healthcare is a case in point. We heard from experts who are applying Artificial Intelligence to a wide range of medical applications to improve health outcomes – from medical imaging to drug discovery.

Another area where innovation has a role to play is the drive towards Net Zero. In a keynote, climate expert Dr. Katherine Wilkinson highlighted the need to focus not only on the technical solutions to climate change, but also the people who make it all possible. In another session, green energy pioneer Lei Zhang, Founder and CEO of Envision, discussed his work creating a cleaner future.

Finally, we ended with a stimulating conversation about the role of robots in our lives. Kate Darling, MIT Media Lab Research Scientist, not only touched on how automation will impact the world of work, but also the need to create robots with completely new capabilities that human beings lack.

We are very happy to share with you highlights from the Private Wealth Sessions that took place during the inaugural HSBC Global Investment Summit. We assembled a wide range of experts from across the world to discuss the future of investing and how to navigate the uncertain investment landscape.

The sessions began with opening remarks from Nuno Matos, Chief Executive Officer, Wealth and Personal Banking, HSBC. He gave a broadly optimistic outlook on the global economy, with a focus on the demographic, technological and sustainable opportunities in Asia. He also pointed to some of the new digital wealth solutions in wealth management, as well as considering artificial intelligence’s potential over the coming years.

There was then a fireside chat with two titans of the financial industry: Michael Gitlin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Capital Group, and Robert Kapito, President and Director, BlackRock. They shared their views on the strategies that investors should consider in these unpredictable times, with detailed discussions of the differences between active and passive management, and the reasons for moving out cash holdings.

One of the biggest investment trends in recent years is the shift toward private markets. We heard a panel of investors from Apollo, KKR, and Blackstone, each representing a different segment of the alternatives space: private credit, private equity, and real estate. They explained the reasons why capital is moving from public to private markets, covering everything from risk management to the optimal allocation to alternatives.

We then moved away from investment topics to look at broader developments that affect how we live our lives.

This includes the rise of technology, especially the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence. A panel of PhDs, including Microsoft, research scientist and HSBC Global Research, discussed not only how this exciting new technology can generate productivity improvements but also radically change the way that humans and machines interact.

Finally, there was a panel on how businesses can best serve the evolving needs of Asia wealthy, with speakers from Christie’s - the world of art, CSOP - finance, and Jing Daily - luxury explaining the power of influencers and digitisation, especially in China, to interact with the future consumers.

50+ external speakers are speaking at the event including Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, author and historian Niall Ferguson, and other luminaries from finance, business, academia, and government.