The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, today (June 8) encouraged local university students embarking on an exchange programme to Shanghai to enhance their understanding of the financial systems and market developments in the two places.
Officiating at the launch ceremony of the Cross-boundary Study Tour for Post-secondary Financial Talents 2018 (the Scheme), Mr Lau said the Scheme is now in its seventh year and he was happy to know that it had been well received by the participating students and financial institutions.
He noted that the Scheme had nourished many high-calibre financial talents since its inception, and said he was glad to see many from the past cohorts had chosen to pursue their career in the financial sector after graduation. He further appealed to the students to make use of the opportunity in Shanghai to see for themselves the latest developments of the financial industry and the working culture of financial institutions in the Mainland, with a view to better equipping themselves for future career development.
Mr Lau also encouraged the students to get to understand more the national development strategies, including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development plan and the Belt and Road Initiative, and how Hong Kong's financial industry could tap these opportunities. He said that Hong Kong, being an international financial centre and the world's largest offshore Renminbi business hub, could leverage on its rich experience in financial services, including capital raising and financing as well as asset and risk management, to serve enterprises in the Bay Area and the Belt and Road economies.
Also speaking at the launch ceremony, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, Mr Andy Ho, said the Federation is glad to be the assisting organisation again this year. He encouraged the students to make full use of the Scheme through networking and exchanges with instructors of their attached financial institutions for career development in related industries.
This year, 32 students from nine universities in Hong Kong are taking part in the Scheme. They will depart for Shanghai on June 18 for a six-week exchange programme comprising attachment to financial institutions for about five weeks; visits to government organisations, financial regulators and exchanges; and exchange activities with Shanghai students. Reciprocally, a group of Shanghai post-secondary financial students will visit Hong Kong in late July.
Hong Kong and Shanghai signed the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Advancing Hong Kong-Shanghai Financial Co-operation (MOU) in 2010. Both sides agreed to strengthen co-operation in four areas, namely the development of the securities markets, the development of the bond markets, the mutual establishment of financial institutions, and the training and exchange of financial talents. Under the MOU, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Shanghai Municipal Government Financial Services Office jointly launched the Scheme in 2012.
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