Business
Conference
2018

It is impossible to predict just exactly how the Covid-19 will impact geopolitics in the long-term, but initial signs of its potential impact have begun to show. Even before the outbreak, the US-China trade war was already revealing some cracks in the overall viability of global trade and supply chains. After the virus outbreak, the devastating repercussions to businesses who had benefited for years from the economic interdependence offered by globalisation have now made even the most optimistic prognosticators question what the new world order will look like in the coming months and years. At the center of it all are the US and China — whose policy and diplomatic responses to the pandemic are likely to guide the trajectory of global geopolitics for countless years to come.

Louis Kuijs, Head of Asia Economics, Oxford Economics

(moderator) Zhou Xin, Political Economy Editor, South China Morning Post

After millions have been confined to their homes in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, businesses and consumers have set their sights toward online services — from work conferencing and cloud computing, to healthcare, e-commerce and e-learning. Has Covid-19 pushed the world into defining a new ecosystem, where next-generation online services are widely adopted by businesses and consumers alike? What services are most likely to sustain and grow a consumer base and which should investors be targeting in the long-term? How much will the rollout of 5G networks enhance this trend? What are the key risks to watch out for when investing in online-based organisations?

Confirmed speakers include:
Edmond Huang, Managing Director, Head of Hong Kong/ China Research and Head of China Equity Strategy, Credit Suisse

Yat Siu, Co-founder & Chairman, Animoca Brands; Founder & CEO, Outblaze

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered society in immeasurable ways, including, of course, investing. While stocks in services like e-commerce, online education and gaming have thrived, while stocks in retail and air travel have plummeted. But one of the most interesting developments for investors is in noticing that the coronavirus could prove to be a major turning point for sustainable investing, as organisational and consumer values continue to shift as a result of the pandemic.
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Conscience aside, these funds are also attracting record levels of cash because they're proving that they can offer comparable, if not market-beating, returns. Even before the virus outbreak, sustainable investing - the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into analysis and decision making - was seeing a notable rise in the last few years. So far, that growth has not stopped at all. The question now arises whether sustainable investing and its corporate equivalent - the integration of sustainability into business models - will become the new normal as the pandemic continues; and especially after subsides.
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Confirmed Speakers included:
Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited

Phineas Glover, Head of ESG Research, APAC, Credit Suisse

Pamela Mar, Executive Vice President – Knowledge and Applications, Fung Academy, Fung Group

In an effort to ease a property glut amid the city’s worst recession on record, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority recently announced it would ease commercial real estate financing rules, allowing banks to increase lending for the first time in more than a decade. Despite relaxed lending rules and recent government relief packages, overall investor sentiment in the sector is mixed, as business activities remain disrupted by social distancing measures and the mainstream implementation of work-from-home could pose a negative effect on demand for commercial space in the long-term. Meanwhile, however, second-quarter investment volume for commercial and retail real estate in mainland China jumped significantly in stark contrast to declines in nine other markets across the Asia-Pacific region, where Hong Kong led a region-wide slump of between 23 and 80 percent.
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What is the overall sentiment in the commercial real estate investment sector in the near- and long-term? Are concerns over the possibility of Western-based organisations exiting Hong Kong in response to recent geopolitical tensions valid? How much of an impact will the wide adoption of work-from-home practices impact the property sector? What growth opportunities does the Greater Bay Area present and how does that impact Hong Kong? Why is mainland China seeing such a large uptick, while the rest of Asia-Pacific is slumping?

Confirmed Speakers included:
Jianping Chen, Vice President, Credit Suisse

Donald Choi, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Chinachem Group

Ellen Ng, Managing Director, Head of China Real Estate, Warburg Pincus

Ada Wong, Chief Executive Officer, Champion REIT

(moderator) Sandy Li, Property Editor, South China Morning Post