Hong Kong as a Philanthropy Hub

RUNDOWN
Registration 10:30
Opening Remarks and Presentation 11:00
First Panel Discussion 11:35
Second Panel Discussion 12:25
Luncheon and Keynote Speech 13:15

TICKETING
HK$850/pax ASHK Member/NGO Personnel
HK$950/pax Non-Member

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Hong Kong is known to have a strong philanthropy history with leading donors, a financial hub, a gateway to Mainland China, and a deep talent pool in private wealth management. How can Hong Kong strengthen its attractiveness for private wealth owners, both individual and corporate, to engage in philanthropy?

The Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS) will release a study sponsored by the Better Hong Kong Foundation on what a philanthropy hub is and what Hong Kong would need to do to become the pre-eminent philanthropy hub in Asia. Join us for a luncheon forum to hear a keynote address from Christopher Hui, HKSAR Secretary of Financial Services and the Treasury, a presentation of the study by CAPS Co-Founder and Chief Executive Ruth Shapiro, and a conversation with our distinguished panelists on the potential, the strengths, and the needs of Hong Kong as a philanthropy hub.

Keynote Speaker

Christopher Hui is the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He serves on the boards of Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited, Hong Kong Airport Authority and as the Chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. He was an Administrative Officer in the Government from 1999 to 2003 and served in the Economic Development Branch, the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing and the Home Affairs Department. After leaving the Government, Mr. Hui spent 13 years at the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, having been the Managing Director for Market Development and Head of Project Management and also in various senior roles in Listing and Market Development. He worked for a number of multi-national companies in the private sector as well. He was appointed the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council from 2019 to 2020. Mr. Hui previously held a number of public roles including Councillor of the City University of Hong Kong, Member of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority Process Review Panel, Hong Kong Stock Exchange Listing Review Committee and also Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants Disciplinary Panel. Mr. Hui holds Bachelor and Master (Hon) Degrees in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford, and Master of Business Administration Degree from INSEAD. He also attended the Stanford Executive Programme (SEP). 

Presenter

Dr. Ruth A. Shapiro is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS). CAPS is a research and advisory non-profit organization based in Hong Kong and working throughout Asia. CAPS is committed to producing world-class, evidence-based research to help philanthropists, governments and social delivery organizations maximize the positive impact of private social investment. Dr. Shapiro is the primary author of Pragmatic Philanthropy: Asian Charity Explained, published by Palgrave Macmillan in January 2018. She is the editor of The Real Problem Solvers, a book about social entrepreneurship in America. She also co-authored the book, Building Energy Efficiency: Why Green Buildings are Key to Asia’s Future. She has published articles in Nikkei Asia, the South China Morning Post, Alliance and Philanthropy Impact, and is a regular speaker on issues related to private social investment in Asia. Dr. Shapiro founded the Asia Business Council and served as its Executive Director from its inception in 1997 until May 2007. She spent the early part of her professional career in the field of international development. Within this field, she held management positions and built new program areas at the Academy for Educational Development, the Harvard Institute of International Development and Global Outlook. She holds a doctorate from Stanford University and Master’s Degrees from Harvard University and George Washington University. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of Michigan.

Moderator

Ronnie C. Chan is the Chair of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Limited, both publicly listed in Hong Kong. Hang Lung expanded into mainland China in 1992, developing, owning and managing world-class commercial complexes in key tier one and tier two cities. Mr. Chan co-founded Morningside, a diversified investment group engaged in private equity and venture capital investments in North America, Asia, and Europe. He founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund, which preserves and conserves heritage architecture of historical significance in China, and is a co-founding Director of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation in Beijing, and had previously served as Vice President and Advisor of the China Development Research Foundation in Beijing. Mr. Chan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chair Emeritus of the Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center, and Co-Founder and Chairman of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society. He serves or has served on the governing or advisory bodies of several think tanks and universities, which include: Peterson Institute for International Economics, World Economic Forum, East-West Center, Pacific Council on International Policy, Eisenhower Fellowships, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, University of Southern California, Indian School of Business, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Yale University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University.

Panelists

Francis Belin has been President of Christie’s Asia Pacific since January 2019. In this leadership role, Francis manages all the Asia Pacific-based teams including the regional offices and is accountable for all the transactions of Asian collectors globally, across live, online, and private sales. Additionally, he oversees globally the Asian and World Art as well as the Luxury departments. Francis joined Christie’s in  2016  as  Global  Managing  Director,  Asian Art,  from his previous role with Swarovski, overseeing their business in Asia Pacific. With 17 years of experience in premium and luxury consumer goods, Francis began his career in  Management Consulting at McKinsey & Co in Europe and Asia. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for Kids Earth Fund in Japan and serves on various boards as non-executive Chairman and Independent Non-executive Director. Francis holds a degree in Management from the ESSEC Business School in France and a Diploma Kaufmann from the University of Mannheim in Germany, majoring in Business Administration and Psychology.

Laurence Li, SC is the Chairman of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC). The FSDC is an advisory body to the HKSAR Government on all matters relating to the development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre. It engages the industry in formulating proposals to promote the further development of the financial services industry of Hong Kong and to map out the strategic direction for the development. Mr. Li’s profession is a practicing barrister. He focuses on banking, commercial, company, and securities law.  Prior to being called to the Hong Kong Bar, he served in several positions within the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong and, before that, worked in a law firm in New York. Mr. Li is a Judge of the International Court and Regulatory Tribunal in Doha, Qatar. He is also a Fellow of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, an Honorary Fellow of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law at The University of Hong Kong, and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Financial Regulation and Economic Development at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Since 2017, Stephen Phillips has been the Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the Government Department responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment into Hong Kong. In a career focused on Asia for more than thirty years, Stephen has held senior investment banking positions with Deutsche and BZW/Barclays Capital before co-founding a Hong Kong-based group of companies providing IT, financial and consultancy services across Asia.  In 2006 he became the Chief Executive of the China Britain Business Council, as well as Chairman of the EU China Business Association.  He has held a number of non-executive and adviser roles in China. Mr. Phillips holds a BSc in Chemistry and Law from the University of Exeter.

Kam Shing Kwang is the Chief Executive Officer of J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Asia and is also the Vice Chair of Investment Banking for Greater China. In addition, she is a member of the J.P.  Morgan Asia Pacific Management Committee. Ms. Kwang has over 30 years of experience in financial services, across private banking, asset management and investment banking. Since joining J.P. Morgan in 1998, she has played a key role in facilitating partnership across lines of business to better address clients’ corporate balance sheet and personal wealth management needs. With over three decades in the industry, she has extensive experience and in-depth knowledge across markets in Asia. Before assuming her current role, Ms. Kwang was responsible for the North Asia markets. Prior to that, she was based in Singapore serving as the Head of Southeast Asia. Between 2016 to 2018, Ms. Kwang was also the Senior Country Officer for J.P. Morgan Hong Kong across business lines, where she built and maintained rapport with regulators, as well as ensured compliant local governance coordination and robust controls. She is a trusted advisor for the industry, with a seat on Hong Kong’s Banking Advisory Committee, which advises Hong Kong’s Chief Executive on banking-sector issues. Ms. Kwang holds a BAcc (Hon) degree from National University of Singapore and the designation of CFA. She is also a member on the Advisory Board for Wealth Management Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University.

Amy Lo is Co-Head of Wealth Management Asia Pacific, Head and Chief Executive of UBS Hong Kong, and a Managing Director at UBS. Amy has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry. Since joining UBS in 1995, she has held a number of senior management positions including Regional Head of Ultra High Net Worth and Global Family Office in Asia. Today, the ultra-high net worth business is the leading wealth manager for ultra-high net worth individuals in the region.  Actively involved in the development of the private banking industry in Hong Kong, Amy chairs the Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Private Wealth Management Association (PWMA), and is a Board Member of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council (FSDC). She is also a member of the Banking Industry Training Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Education Bureau, a member of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee Financial Infrastructure Sub-Committee of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and an advisor of Our Hong Kong Foundation. A passionate supporter of youth education and technological innovation in Greater China, Amy is a member of The Court and the MBA Advisory Board at The University of Hong Kong, and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Department of Social Work at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also a Board Member of the UBS Optimus Foundation, the independent grant-making foundation that helps UBS clients improve the education and welfare of children globally.

Tan Siew Meng was appointed Regional Head of HSBC Private Banking, Asia Pacific, in January 2017. She leads a team of 1,400 dedicated professionals across the region to serve the wealth needs of business owners and their families.  Siew Meng has more than 30 years of banking experience in a wide variety of management roles across Asia, culminating in her being recognised as Asian Private Banker’s Private Banker of the Year in 2019. Prior to her current position, Siew Meng was the Regional Head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance for HSBC in Asia-Pacific. In this role, she managed the Bank’s trade and supply chain franchise across the region, along with HSBC’s Regional Receivables Finance & Commodity and Structured Trade Finance businesses. Siew Meng joined HSBC in April 2004 as Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Singapore, and was subsequently promoted to Head of Commercial Banking for Singapore in 2006. In 2011, she was appointed CEO of HSBC Mauritius, followed by CEO of HSBC Thailand in 2013. Before joining HSBC, Siew Meng spent more than five years at Citibank, N.A., and held senior roles at Barclays de Zoete Wedd, and DBS Bank.  Siew Meng holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the National University of Singapore.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position, or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.