‘Appropriate arrangements’ will be made for Hong Kong bankers’ summit if needed, organisers say, after finance chief Paul Chan gets Covid in Middle East
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan, who will remain in Saudi Arabia for now, tells Post he has a fever and sore throat but is getting better under medication
- Chan is set to give a keynote lunch speech on the second day of the city’s Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit next week
The government said Chan would stay in Riyadh for the time being, in compliance with infection protocol, before returning home as soon as possible, while Hong Kong health authorities reiterated that anyone flying into the city would have to show a negative RAT result before boarding a plane.
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Chan told the Post he had a fever and sore throat, but was taking medication and recovering. He would not say whether he could make it back in time for the financial summit next week, which would be the first major international event hosted by the city to show its readiness to return to business interrupted by the pandemic for nearly three years.
The Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit, organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, is expected to bring together heavyweights from more than 100 major institutions to the city between November 1 and 3.
Chan is set to give a keynote lunch speech on the second day of the summit, which will centre on technology, innovation and the future of finance. He is also expected to deliver the opening address at a session titled “Conversation with Global Investors” on the third day of the event.
In a reply to Post inquiries on whether Chan would attend the event, the Monetary Authority said it would make the most appropriate arrangements for the summit, adding that if there were updates to the process, it would announce them in due course.