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The Global Economy and Strategic Decision-Making Summit cum HKU CEO Programme Opening Ceremony, hosted by HKU Business School, was successfully held on 27 June, 2025. The event brought together renowned policymakers, top academics, and industry leaders for keynote speeches and engaging dialogues. Speakers shared valuable insights on the evolving role of Hong Kong in the changing global geo-economic landscape, the new technological and business trends driven by AI, emerging global economic policies, and the challenges and opportunities faced by Chinese Enterprises in their international expansion. Held at Loke Yew Hall in HKU’s main campus, the event attracted a diverse audience of leaders from industry and academia, with more than 200 attendees.

“Hong Kong's role between Mainland China and the global market is akin to a canal—requiring continuous self-adjustment to connect and adapt to both sides, thereby generating substantial economic value. It is crucial to manage Hong Kong’s positioning strategically. What’s more, Hong Kong’s common law framework offers a natural advantage in developing a globally competitive financial services industry,” said Prof. Richard Wong, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Chair of Economics, and Philip Wong Kennedy Wong Professor in Political Economy at The University of Hong Kong, who opened the Summit and welcomed the speakers and guests.

Following the opening, Mr. C Y Leung, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Former Chief Executive of the HKSAR, delivered a keynote titled “National Needs, HKU’s Strengths”, sharing that Hong Kong has a nearly two-century uninterrupted history of trade services and a reputation trusted by the international community. For mainland businesses and high-level executives to succeed, they must understand Hong Kong’s unique strengths and learn to utilize its specialized tools and advantages. By effectively leveraging the benefits of the “one country, two systems” framework, they can better navigate the international market and seize new opportunities.

The Summit also featured three rounds of epic dialogues, discussing how Hong Kong’s unique positioning is shaping amidst AI-driven industrial transformations, shifts in the global geo-economic landscape, and Chinese enterprises’ overseas expansion. During the dialogue titled “Technology, Business, and Individual in the Waves of AI”, Prof. Harry Shum, Council Chairman of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Foreign Member of U.S. National Academy of Engineering, highlighted that AI is no longer just a technology—it's a new era; universities, as leaders in research and talent development, should actively promote innovation and entrepreneurship and leverage Hong Kong's strategic position connecting the Greater Bay Area for more industry-university-research collaboration and accelerate the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies we can offer to this vast market.

“The era of AI has arrived, and these past few years are just the beginning. We must embrace, learn, harness, and master AI. As educators at HKU Business School, we need to help students understand and navigate this profound transformation, fostering their innovative and digital skills to recognize and seize AI-driven business opportunities. With this said, we will launch new courses on AI and Business in the upcoming semester, to develop forward-looking, adaptable future business leaders who will drive ongoing innovation and social progress,” noted Prof. Hongbin Cai, Dean and Chair of Economics, and Director of Institute of China Economy, HKU Business School.

Prof. Zhenhua Mao, Professor in Economics of HKU Business School and Member of Chief Executive’s Policy Unit Expert Group, presented his keynote titled “Reimagine Hong Kong's Role in a Changing Global Landscape” and emphasised that Hong Kong currently faces four key opportunities: positioning itself as a bridge for Chinese companies shifting from global goods exports to capital exports; leveraging its status as a free port to resist tariff hikes and reinvent itself as a shopping destination; capitalizing on its universities to develop an English-language tertiary education hub serving mainland China; and attracting international scientists and entrepreneurs to establish a global talent pool.

The second epic dialogue, on “Global Landscape and Hong Kong Economy”, featured Ms. Bonnie Y Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), and Prof. Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance of HKU Business School, Cheng Yu-Tung Professor in Finance, Director of Centre for Quantitative History, and Director of Hong Kong Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences. Ms. Bonnie Y Chan emphasized that Hong Kong’s capital markets are robust, thanks to its institutional strengths and decades of accumulated talent, experience, and resources. HKEX’s role is in connecting capital and opportunities to support the growth of physical economy. Moving forward, it will continue enhancing the listing framework to support the fundraising needs of promising businesses, and foster regional economic growth and sustainability.

Prof. Zhiwu Chen said, “Given the geopolitical and domestic political changes, Hong Kong has a good chance to maintain and grow its international financial centre status. To achieve that, Hong Kong must compete with other financial centres and win by having fewer, not more, regulations. We must remember that Hong Kong became Hong Kong not because it had all kinds of tight regulations but because of the opposite. Hong Kong's international financial centre status can only be strengthened or re-strengthened by returning to that root!"

The final dialogue, moderated by Prof. Zhenhua Mao and titled “Strategies of Chinese Enterprises Going Overseas”, included four panelists: Ms. Alpha Lau, Director-General of Investment Promotion, Invest Hong Kong, HKSAR Government; Mr. Qiying Zhang, President & Chief Technology Officer of MingYang Smart Energy Group; Mr. Donghai Liu, Chairman of Dixintong Technology Group Co., Ltd.; and Mr. Xianxiang Yang, Executive Director & Chairman of SITC International Holdings Co., Ltd.

“Hong Kong offers a robust and internationally aligned institutional framework, underpinned by a deep and mature capital market. With a strong understanding of both Mainland and international business practices, the city is well positioned to support Mainland enterprises in fundraising and going global. Invest Hong Kong is committed to fostering two-way investment flows and actively encourages Mainland companies to leverage Hong Kong’s international advantages to access overseas markets and capture emerging global opportunities,” Ms. Alpha Lau shared in the session.

The other panelists shared and discussed the urgency of companies expanding abroad, the specific challenges they face, and valuable lessons to learn from their experiences.

The Global Economy and Decision-Making Summit extends from HKU Business School’s flagship HKU CEO Programme. This comprehensive initiative leverages top faculty, industry expertise, and research resources of HKU Business School, aiming to foster regional and global leaders that can drive collaborations in policies, business, and enterprise across regions—ultimately positioning Hong Kong as a key hub for future opportunities and innovations.

Hi-res photos are available here.

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About HKU Business School
Established in 2001, HKU Business School is one of the youngest and most dynamic members of The University of Hong Kong (HKU). The School strives to nurture first-class business leaders and foster academic and relevant research to serve the needs of Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world in the new Asia-led economy. As a top international business school in Asia, the School engages leading scholars from all corners of the globe and they instil in students global knowledge with an Asian perspective. The School attracts top students from Hong Kong and beyond.

HKU Business School offers a full spectrum of business education, and has achieved remarkable growth in faculty strength and research capability in the last two decades. The School ranks world’s 13th and Asia’s No.1 in Financial Times’ Aggregated Research Ranking in 2024; Asia’s No.1 in UTD Research Rankings from 2020 to 2024; its full-time MBA has been ranked Asia’s no. 1 in the World MBA Rankings released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for 10 times and Hong Kong’s no.1 in QS Global MBA Rankings for 5 consecutive years. The School has well-established and strategic partnerships with world-renowned universities and corporate partners, providing market-oriented content, superior learning and instrumental resources for our students.

To better serve our students and alumni in various cities and regions and facilitate collaboration opportunities with business communities around the globe, HKU Business School has established a unique international network that extends to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ho Chi Minh City, Tel Aviv and Barcelona. The School is well-positioned to be a leading, globally impactful academic institution of business and economics. |

HKU Business School is fully accredited by the European Quality Improvement Systems (EQUIS) and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

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