SFST Highlights Hong Kong's Promotion of "Finance+ Strategy for Innovation and Collaboration at 2026 Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit

Speech by SFST at Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit 2026

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, at the Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit 2026 today (October 27):

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui. Photo source: reference image

Professor the Honourable Priscilla Leung (Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Association for External Friendship), Professor Dennis Lo (Vice-Chancellor and President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong), distinguished university presidents and academic leaders, honourable guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to join you at the Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit 2026. May I begin by thanking Professor the Honourable Priscilla Leung for her kind invitation, and for her leadership in organising this Summit. I must say I went through the programme of this Summit. I can see almost a third of my government colleagues will be or have been here, so it's indeed a much closer event. I also thank the Hong Kong Association for External Friendship for assembling so distinguished a gathering of university leaders and partners from around the world, and for placing this year's discussion at the intersection of knowledge, enterprise and public purpose.

Your theme - the globalisation of knowledge, and deeper industry-academia-research collaboration - speaks directly to our Hong Kong's agenda. This session asks how policy, entrepreneurship and education may reinforce one another; how governance and intellectual property protection may build trust; and also how industry collaboration may turn discovery into lasting public value. From the standpoint of financial services and treasury management, a policy portfolio which I oversee, the proposition is simple: ideas require capital, markets and sound risk management if they are to travel from laboratory to real economy. That is why we are advancing the "Finance+" strategy, and why financing the Northern Metropolis University Town matters to this Summit.

Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan is clear: finance is our pivotal and crowning strength. As an international financial centre, we must seek growth through stability, reinforce stability through growth, and fully leverage the core function of propelling the real economy with finance. One of the Plan's core directions is therefore to take forward "Finance+" - so that capital, expertise and risk management empower businesses, accelerate innovation, and serve the real economy.

So the next question to ask is what does "Finance+" mean in practice?

First, finance must offer end-to-end support for innovation and industry - from venture capital and private equity through to our equity and bond markets - helping enterprises raise funds, manage risk and commercialise technology.

Second, financial innovation must address the pain points of the real economy. Fintech, green and sustainable finance, and stronger market infrastructure open better channels for trade, fundraising, financing and risk management.

Third, finance must sit alongside talent, research and industry — not apart from them. That is why this Summit's framing of policy, industry, academia, research and investment resonates so strongly with our approach. Investment is not an afterthought. It is the bridge that turns collaboration into scale.

Under the Policy Address this year, we are translating "Finance+" into action: consolidating our edges as a global offshore Renminbi business hub, an international asset and wealth management centre, and an international risk management centre; enhancing our equity and bond markets; developing a commodity trading ecosystem with gold as an entry point; and promoting green finance and fintech - always with prudent risk management at the core.

To attract enterprises that strengthen the real economy, we are advancing preferential policy packages covering land, subsidies and tax concessions. My Bureau plans to introduce an amendment bill providing preferential tax rates of five per cent, or half-rate, for selected enterprises in key sectors such as finance, advanced manufacturing, research and development in innovation and technology, headquarters activities, and logistics and supply chain management.

We are also putting capital to work where Hong Kong's next engine of growth is taking shape. The Northern Metropolis Financial Advisory Taskforce, established by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Association of Banks, is exploring public-private partnership approaches and tailored financing for companies moving into the Northern Metropolis. Enhancements to the insurance risk-based capital regime will release more insurance capital for infrastructure, including Northern Metropolis projects. As at July this year, funding for Northern Metropolis-related public works secured from the Legislative Council Finance Committee has already exceeded $180 billion. The Legislative Council has also approved raising the total borrowing ceiling of the Government Sustainable Bond Programme and the Infrastructure Bond Programme to $900 billion, enabling bond markets to support infrastructure development at scale.

In short, "Finance+" turns Hong Kong's financial strength into a force multiplier for education, technology and industry - the triad at the heart of this Summit.

The Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit 2026. Photo source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

That brings me briefly to the Northern Metropolis University Town - not as an education blueprint, but as a platform where policy, industry, academia, research and investment must meet.

The Northern Metropolis is no longer merely a plan on paper. It is a strategic vehicle for integrating high-quality post-secondary education with innovation, technology and industry, and for pooling international talent. The University Town is being developed as a place where campuses, research and industry may co-locate, and where the transformation of research outcomes into commercial and public value may be financed, not only conceived.

Vision must be matched by means. In the Budget, the Financial Secretary announced that the Government will earmark $10 billion for providing loans to support campus development at the Northern Metropolis University Town. These loans will support part of campus development costs on terms that encourage financially sound, competitive proposals - so that public resources and institutional ambition advance together.

This is the financial services' and the government treasury's contribution to the Summit's logic: policy sets the frame; universities and industry generate insight and application; and capital - through loans, markets, insurance and public–private partnership - supplies the bridge.

Why does this matter for the leaders in this room?

Because sustainable growth depends upon systems that interact co-operatively and productively rather than operate in isolation. Research without pathways to application remains just potential. Industry without investable innovation loses momentum. Finance without a pipeline of ideas becomes just capital in search of purpose. Policy without partners cannot scale.

Hong Kong's answer, from a financial services perspective, is to connect these capacities deliberately: to protect and commercialise intellectual property so that trust and investment may follow ideas; to strengthen pathways from discovery to application; and to invite local and global institutions to plant campuses and partnerships in the Northern Metropolis - supported by a financial system that understands patient capital, risk management and global markets.

To our visiting university leaders: under "one country, two systems", Hong Kong offers a common law jurisdiction, a freely convertible currency, world-class financial infrastructure, and deep connectivity with the Mainland and the world - a platform for co-investment, commercialisation, and bringing international research networks into an ecosystem where capital is ready to engage. I encourage you to explore partnerships with our institutions, to consider the opportunities opening around the University Town, and to help us build a talent and innovation hub for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the world.

Knowledge becomes powerful when it travels - across borders, across disciplines, and across the boundary between campus and society. Hong Kong is determined to make that journey shorter, safer and more rewarding: where policy sets the frame, universities generate insight, industry creates application, and finance supplies the bridge.

I wish this session, and the Summit as a whole, every success. May your discussions strengthen the synergies we are building into Hong Kong's future: between education and enterprise, research and investment, and Hong Kong and the world.

Thank you.

The Global University Presidents and Leaders Summit 2026. Photo source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Closing remarks by DSJ at awards and closing ceremony of Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot 2026 Globals in Shenzhen

Following are the closing remarks by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the awards and closing ceremony of the Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot (FDI Moot) 2026 Globals in Shenzhen today (October 27):

Director Campbell (Founder Representative of the FDI Moot and Director of the Center for International Legal Studies, Mr Christian Campbell), President Liu (President of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA), Dr Liu Xiaochun), Director Ng (Acting Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Ng Chi-kin), Deputy Secretary Liu (Deputy Secretary of the Leading Party Members Sub-Group and Deputy Chief Judge of the First Circuit Court of the Supreme People's Court, Mr Liu Zheng), Director Sun (Director of the Investment Law Division of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce, Mr Sun Zhao), Vice Chairman Anthony Neoh (Vice Chairman of the SCIA Council, Former Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Co-Chairman of the Asian Academy of International Law, Dr Anthony Neoh, SC), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening. On behalf of the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, it is a great honour to join you all at the awards and closing ceremony of the 2026 FDI Moot Global Rounds.

To all the participating teams: my warmest congratulations. Whether or not you are taking an award home today, I trust that your participation must have offered profound insights and forged lasting bonds with your peers.

The FDI Moot brings our future professionals from classroom theories to the real-world complexities of investor-state dispute settlement. The value of the FDI Moot stems from the unique opportunity it offers for students to apply what they have learned at schools to tackle as a team high-stakes issues which they will likely face when they begin practising one day.

The 2026 FDI Moot marks a truly historic milestone - this is the first time that the Global Finals are hosted in China. This tells a clear story: the Asia-Pacific region is the key forum for global dialogue on international investment law, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is developing into a vibrant hub for cross-border dispute resolution.

Your experience gained from this competition could not have come timelier. In an era when cross-border investment becomes increasingly prevalent, the ability to resolve disputes fairly, efficiently and in accordance with international standards is the bedrock of global trade.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong is uniquely placed to contribute to this ecosystem. As the only common law jurisdiction within China, and the only bilingual common law jurisdiction in the world using both Chinese and English, we serve as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" between the Chinese Mainland and the international community. The National 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly supports the deepening of Hong Kong's status as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre. This is complemented by Hong Kong's own First Five-Year Plan and the latest Policy Address, which reaffirm our commitment to strengthening arbitration, mediation and related professional services.

Hong Kong's Arbitration Ordinance, based on the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Model Law (Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration), has underpinned Hong Kong's standing as a leading arbitral seat. In the 2025 Queen Mary University of London International Arbitration Survey, Hong Kong was ranked as the second most preferred seat of arbitration globally, and the first in the Asia-Pacific region. To ensure that our arbitration legal framework stays at the forefront of international practice, we are embarking on a project to reform arbitration law.

Beyond the law itself, our practical arrangements are designed to offer unparalleled convenience for international users. Hong Kong awards are readily enforceable in the Chinese Mainland under our mutual recognition and enforcement arrangement, and parties to Hong Kong-seated arbitrations may seek interim measures directly from Mainland courts under the Interim Measures Arrangement (Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), a unique advantage that has assisted users to preserve substantial assets. In addition, Hong Kong implements the Immigration Facilitation Scheme (Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Visitors Participating in Short-term Activities in Designated Sectors). This allows non-Hong Kong residents participating in arbitral proceedings, including arbitrators, counsel, parties and witnesses, to enter Hong Kong for short-term participation without the need for a separate employment visa. Together with our deep pool of multilingual professionals and close institutional partnerships, Hong Kong is guaranteed a practical and reliable choice for cross-border investment disputes.

I wish to acknowledge the tremendous efforts of the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration, all arbitrators, coaches, interpreters and volunteers who have brought the Global Finals to fruition.

Today marks the end of this FDI Moot journey, but your engagement with international investment law has only just begun. The discipline you have forged here, all the rigorous legal analysis, disciplined advocacy and respect for opposing perspectives, will certainly be the solid building blocks of your careers. I look forward to seeing you contribute to the ongoing evolution of the global investment-law framework, steadily and surely. Thank you very much.

Closing remarks by DSJ at awards and closing ceremony of Foreign Direct Investment International Arbitration Moot 2026 Globals in Shenzhen Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases