Apec Business Advisory Council meeting: Hong Kong to highlight culture, innovation and sustainability to impress delegates

Hong Kong is hosting a three-day meeting of the Apec Business Advisory Council next week for the first time since 2015

Culture, innovation and sustainability are some of the areas that will be highlighted to show the city is more than just a finance centre, Hong Kong delegate says

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Hong Kong will host a meeting of the Apec Business Advisory Council from April 22 to 25. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 9:30am, 22 Apr 2024

Hong Kong’s representatives to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) business advisory council plan to use the platform to showcase the city as more than just a finance hub.

The city will host a meeting of the Apec Business Advisory Council (ABAC) from April 22 to 25. Some 200 delegates from across the region, as well as China and the United States, will be in Hong Kong for the first time since 2015.

“Besides seeing Hong Kong as a financing centre, we hope that [Apec delegates] will have a different view of the city,” said Nisa Leung, managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners and one of Hong Kong’s representatives to ABAC.

Culture, innovation and sustainability are some of the areas that will be highlighted, she added.

Marjorie Yang (left), chaiman of Esquel Group, and Nisa Leung, managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners, are two of the three Hong Kong representatives to the Apec Business Advisory Council. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Towards this end, the Hong Kong government announced a raft of innovation and technology initiatives in the budget, with various funding schemes to foster a vibrant and diversified economy, pledging continued support for turning the city into a global tech hub.

The government has committed HK$24 billion (US$3.07 billion) to boost the tech-driven economy and extended the Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme to 2027 in this year’s budget.