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HSBC to host next investment summit in early 2025 after resounding success of ‘Hong Kong is back’ pitch
- HSBC hosted more than 5,000 meetings over three days for 3,500 attendees and customers from over 40 countries this week
- There is huge interest in Hong Kong as a market, given its role as the bridge between the world and the vast business opportunities in mainland China: CEO Quinn
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HSBC plans to host another global investment summit (GIS) within the first four months of 2025 in the city, after this year’s sell-out inaugural conference drew 3,500 attendees, an overwhelming success that CEO Noel Quinn said was proof that “Hong Kong is back”.
GIS 2025 will be held between March 25 and 27, the bank said in a statement. The bank hosted more than 5,000 meetings over three days for attendees and customers from over 40 countries, Quinn said during a post-conference interview on Wednesday. The attendance, right after the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, was testament to the deep interest among global investors about Hong Kong, given the city’s role as the bridge between the world and the vast business opportunities in mainland China, he said.
“That is a level of interest in Hong Kong as a market,” he said, adding that many of his clients and guests have only returned to the city for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic’s breakout in 2020. “They did not come just to hear us say wonderful words and speak about HSBC, they came because they wanted to understand and see Hong Kong.”
Having Hong Kong in the spotlight suits HSBC, which earned 35 per cent, or US$10.7 billion, of its pre-tax fourth-quarter profit from the city, making it the bank’s largest single market. Hong Kong, the “H” in the bank’s name where it was established in 1865, also contributed the most to HSBC’s deposits, assets, spending on cards, insurance and cash management.
Quinn’s upbeat remarks echoed the pitch by Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who offered the city as the prime destination for global investors, encouraging financiers to “spend big” in the city.
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