COVID-19 has brought major changes to the world. As the global economic environment was being reshaped, digitalization also experienced unprecedented acceleration.
The 14th Asian Financial Forum, to be held online from Jan. 18 to 19, 2021, will gather more than 160 economists, political and business leaders, and financial and investment experts from all over the world to discuss global economic trends in post-pandemic recovery, sustainable development, responsible and innovative investment, financial technology, 5G, venture capital, and asset and wealth management.
The “Dialogue of Tomorrow” session will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on banking, insurance, financial technology, healthcare, and tech giants. Blockchain technology, central bank digital currency, wealth management technology, green finance, and inclusive finance will be among topics discussed in panels and fireside talks.
The Asian Financial Forum will offer perspectives from major financial institutions including AXA, Credit Suisse Group, FWD, HSBC Holdings, Standard Chartered Bank, and UBS Wealth Management; venture investors 500 Startups, Gobi Partners, and Eli Lilly; investment firms Calvert Impact Capital, and Dao Capital; and experienced entrepreneurs.
Notable Speakers:
Paul Romer | 2018 Nobel Laureate for Economic Sciences
Paul Romer, economist and policy entrepreneur, is a co-recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics Sciences and University Professor in Economics at New York University. He has spent his career at the intersection of economics, innovation, technology, and urbanization, working to speed up human progress.
Romer received the Nobel Prize for his work “integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis,” which integrated ideas and innovation into economic models for the first time, making clear the societal benefits possible when people join together and collaborate in new ways.
Stephen A. Schwarzman | Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Blackstone
Stephen A. Schwarzman is Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Blackstone, a leading global investment firm with $584 billion in AUM (as of Sept. 30, 2020) and businesses in private equity, real estate, hedge funds, credit, infrastructure, and life sciences.
In both business and philanthropy, he dedicates himself to tackling big problems with transformative solutions. His major gifts have helped establish a new center at the University of Oxford to redefine the study of the humanities for the 21st century, create a college at Massachusetts Institute of Technology dedicated to the study of artificial intelligence, build a first-of-its-kind student center at Yale, renovate and expand the New York Public Library, and found an international fellowship program, Schwarzman Scholars, at Tsinghua University in Beijing to educate future leaders about China.
Lei Zhang | Founder and CEO of Hillhouse Capital Management
Lei Zhang is CEO of Hillhouse Capital Management. In 2005, Zhang founded Hillhouse, an investment platform that partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build businesses and position them for long-term success. Hillhouse works with companies in the technology, healthcare, consumer, and business services sectors.
Zhang is deeply involved in educational endeavors. He earned his M.B.A and M.A. in International Relations from Yale University and is a member of the Yale Board of Trustees. He also serves as Chair of the Yale Asia Development Council. Before attending Yale, he earned his B.A. in Economics from Renmin University in China, where he is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He is a founding Trustee and Chairman of the Development Council of Westlake University, China’s first graduate-level university dedicated to advancing research in the basic sciences. Zhang was also a founding donor of the Westlake University Endowment.
Alexis Ohanian | Co-founder of Reddit & Seven Seven Six
Alexis Ohanian is the co-founder of Reddit, Initialized Capital, and a bestselling author based in San Francisco, California.
After graduating from the University of Virginia in 2005, Alexis and his co-founder Steve Huffman started the Reddit website. The site quickly took off. In 2006, the two sold it to Conde Nast. In 2015, Ohanian returned as executive chair of the newly-independent Reddit and helped lead a turnaround. It is now the third-largest US website, and sixth largest in the world. In June 2020, in solidarity with the national outcry for social justice, and in an unprecedented act of leadership, Ohanian stepped down from his seat on Reddit’s Board of Directors and urged his company to seat a Black candidate in his place.
In 2016, he and Garry Tan co-founded Initialized Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm that has over $500 million under management and a portfolio with $36 billion in market value so far. In mid-2020, Ohanian left Initialized Capital to work more closely on pre-seed investment efforts.
Click here to learn more about other speakers.
Business matchmaking opportunities and fintech zone
The AFF Deal Flow Matchmaking Session will provide investors and project owners from all over the world with a one-on-one meeting platform. The InnoVenture zone will support startups by building a platform for startups, as well as connecting international investors and potential partners.
The “Fintech Showcase” and the FintechHK Startups Zone will introduce the latest financial innovation development and new-generation business concepts from more than 100 global financial technology solution providers and startups, covering financial management technology, payment technology, insurance technology, regulatory technology, quantitative and computational transactions, personal finance, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, big data, cloud computing, and network security.
Use promo code JBE284 to redeem your discount at registration checkout. Link to register: https://register.eventxtra.com/9bdb1402-cca9-4bbd-ac20-d21cd4d13b11