HONG KONG — “Everbright Investment Conference 2017”, hosted by China Everbright Limited (“CEL”, stock code: 165.HK) and themed “The Power to Transform”, opened at Kerry Hotel Hong Kong today. Some 700 investment professionals, business leaders and economists were in attendance. The conference presents a platform for exchanging and sharing unique insights on topics concerning Hong Kong’s financial development, the China market and global tech investments against the backdrop of constantly changing global economic environment.
Mr CHEN Shuang, executive director and chief executive officer of CEL, delivered the welcome address as well as a keynote speech on “Cross-border Investment Trends in China”, which examined how CEL has succeeded over the last 20 years in building itself into a cross-border investment and asset management company by leveraging its foothold in Hong Kong and strong ties to the Mainland. He said that aligning with current market trends, CEL is cultivating the Mainland market through venture capital and private equity investment while also seeking collaboration in numerous sectors and practising efficient asset allocation both in China and overseas, and seizing promising future opportunities offered by Hong Kong.
This was followed by a keynote speech by Mr LIU Mingkang, former chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, who shared his ideas on “The Development of the Greater Bay Area Connecting Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in the Context of the 19th Party Congress”. Mr Liu opined that by taking advantage of the accumulative experience gained from the Greater Bay Area development, China will be able to draw important lessons for its de-capacity and deleveraging efforts as the country implements supply-side structural reform, where corporate insolvency, regulatory oversight over market exit mechanisms and the establishment of efficient markets come into play. He suggested that the government and market pioneers should enhance communications and take initiatives to push ahead with regulatory sandbox plans, providing a new platform for Hong Kong and Shenzhen to facilitate cross-border, in-depth exchanges of ideas and insights across sectors.
Introducing Hong Kong’s financial development in a global context, Ms Laura CHA, chairman of the Financial Services Development Council of the HKSAR, said that over the years, Hong Kong has achieved tremendous success in financial and economic development against the backdrop of China’s economic growth. The primary core value that warrants Hong Kong’s success is a sound legal system that can provide a fair, transparent and international market environment. Given China’s championing of the One Belt One Road initiative, Hong Kong is well positioned to take its market development to a new height.
Professor LI Zexiang, chairman of Da-Jiang Innovations Technology, then delivered a keynote speech on “Intelligent Manufacturing and Incubation of Tech Start-ups”, sharing his insights from the perspective of technological innovation on how to leverage the Greater Bay Area’s development to address issues of intelligent manufacturing and high-end equipment manufacturing that the Chinese economy will face in future. He remarked that the Greater Bay Area’s development will be driven by its laws, policies, academic achievements and other competitive strengths, such as hardware, robotics, artificial intelligence and even life science.
In the following panel discussions, professional management teams of companies invested by CEL have in-depth interaction with guests. The conference’s first panel discussion, “How Technology Is Changing the World of Finance”, saw Mr DAI Wenyuan, founder and CEO of 4Paradigm, Mr XU Bing, co-founder and vice president of SenseTime Group and Mr William ZHAO, CEO of Mashang Consumer Finance, engaged in in-depth discussion.
In the second panel discussion, Mr Jason JIANG, chairman of Focus Media, Mr ZHANG Ling, chief operating officer of BGI Genomics Co., Ltd., Mr WANG Degen, president of Huaxi Hope Group, and Mr Donald TANG, founder, chairman and CEO of TMP, led a thematic discussion on “Investment Dynamics Driven by China’s Consumer Upgrade”.
CEL also held a launch ceremony and press briefing for Walden CEL Global Fund I, a newly established fund with investment focus in the semiconductor sector. Guests included Mr CHEN Shuang, executive director and chief executive officer of CEL, Mr James PAN, chief investment officer of CEL, Mr WANG Yizhe, managing director of China Everbright Limited, Mr Hing WONG, managing director of Walden International Group, Ms PENG Guie, partner of Walden International Group, and Mr Rong Zhicheng, partner of Walden International Group.
The conference also featured nine breakout sessions presenting CEL’s business development in various sectors, ranging from new economy investment upgrades in primary market healthcare, pan-entertainment and new consumption to overseas infrastructure, real estate, global M&A, elderly care, secondary-market asset management, Everbright Haiyin Global Investment Fund, and structured investments and financing. Professional management teams outlined CEL’s developments in these aspects. Business leaders and experts from across China were invited to participate in in-depth discussions according to their areas of interest.
The Conference dinner featured a discussion between Mr CHEN Shuang and Mr Neil SHEN, founder and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China, who examined investment hot spots and opportunities in the new economy.
This year marks the sixth edition of Everbright Investment Conference. Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of CEL’s establishment in Hong Kong, this year’s Conference has received wide recognition from the business and financial community, attracting higher participation than ever to further the Group’s goal of enhancing its brand image and promoting its capability to leverage economic trends and develop cross-border asset management and investments.
For more information on Everbright Investment Conference 2017, please visit https://everbright-conference2017.com/.