Financial Secretary to Attend Annual Meetings of IMF and World Bank Group in Thailand

FS to attend Annual Meetings of IMF and World Bank Group in Thailand

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, will depart for Bangkok, Thailand, tomorrow morning (October 15) to attend the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) as a member of the Chinese delegation.

This year's Annual Meetings will bring together officials responsible for fiscal, financial and economic affairs, central bank representatives, business and non-governmental sector leaders, and academics from around the world to discuss issues including the global economic outlook, financial stability, poverty reduction, inclusive growth and job creation. The meetings will also focus on mobilising private capital to support infrastructure investment, employment and sustainable growth across economies, as well as harnessing artificial intelligence to promote development while managing the associated risks.

Mr Chan will attend the plenary session of the Annual Meetings on October 16. During the Annual Meetings, he will also attend a roundtable co-organised by the IMF and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to explore investment and financing opportunities in the Hong Kong market for economies in the Middle East and Central Asia. He will outline how Hong Kong can leverage the strengths of its financial markets and professional services to meet these economies' investment and financing needs, and foster cross-border financial co-operation.

In addition, Mr Chan will take part in dialogue sessions organised respectively by Bloomberg and the Atlantic Council to exchange views on Hong Kong's economy, offshore Renminbi business, technological and financial innovation, and the global economic and trade landscape. He will highlight Hong Kong's strengths and resilience as an international financial centre, as well as its role in connecting the Mainland and global capital markets.

During the Annual Meetings, Mr Chan will also meet with financial officials from various economies and senior executives of the IMF, the WBG and international financial firms to exchange views on the global and regional economic and financial situations. He will also introduce the latest developments and opportunities in Hong Kong's financial services sector to strengthen ties and foster further co-operation.

Mr Chan will depart from Bangkok for Hong Kong on the morning of October 17 and arrive in Hong Kong in the afternoon. During his absence, the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, will act as Financial Secretary.

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan. Photo source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

"iAM Smart" introduces AI Assistant feature

The Digital Policy Office (DPO) announced today (October 14) that the "iAM Smart" mobile application is introducing an AI Assistant feature to answer enquiries about government public services.

The AI Assistant's service covers enquiries related to government public services. Members of the public only need to type in their enquiries, and the AI Assistant will leverage AI technology to retrieve information instantly from official sources, and organise it into coherent and concise content for reference by members of the public. When members of the public enquire about an online application procedure, the AI Assistant will list out eligibility criteria, step-by-step instructions and a relevant service link, enabling one-click access to the online service. Where applicable, it will also integrate with the "e-ME" form filling function of "iAM Smart" to assist users in completing online forms with ease.

The latest version of the "iAM Smart" mobile application (version 5.0), with the AI Assistant feature, will be released to users gradually starting from today to late October via official application stores. Users can install the latest version of the mobile application and simply tap the icon of the mascot "Swifty" (see attachment) on the homepage to activate the AI Assistant.

The DPO will continuously optimise the AI Assistant feature. It is anticipated that an enhanced version of AI Assistant with personalised features will be launched by the end of 2026, further enhancing the user experience.

Photo source: HKSAR Government Press Releases.