Riding on the success of last year, this flagship event, now in its second edition, brought together over 100 participants. This exclusive event brought regulators, finance industry experts, and FinTech innovators together to delve into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in propelling Hong Kong's economic future, firmly cementing Hong Kong's unparalleled position as a global AI-enabled financial hub. This forum reaffirmed Citi's unwavering commitment to fostering innovation and preparing the financial ecosystem for an era of unprecedented growth and technological leadership.
The event featured a distinguished lineup of speakers from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and leading organizations including Accenture, Fano, Google Hong Kong and Mastercard. This diverse representation underscored the broad industry commitment to advancing AI capabilities responsibly and collaboratively. During the forum, discussions spanned critical areas such as the future impact of AI on Hong Kong's economy and banking industry, the value of AI for wealth management, and the potential of Agentic AI in transforming the banking, investments and financial services.
The forum also emphasized responsible AI adoption, balancing innovation with strong regulatory oversight and consumer protection, and fostering international collaboration to ensure a secure, transparent, and well-regulated environment, drawing insights from initiatives like the GenAI Sandbox and evolving regulatory policies.
Vicky Kong, Head of Wealth, Asia North & Australia at Citi, said, "At Citi Wealth, AI presents an unprecedented opportunity to not only personalize client experiences but also to deliver enhanced value. Citi is at the forefront of leveraging AI to optimize our operations, empowering our teams to focus on providing our clients with timely, sophisticated and hyper-personalized wealth management solutions that anticipate and meet their evolving needs. This is how we are actively building the future of wealth."
Delving into advanced AI applications, Joe Bonanno, Head of Data Analytics & Innovation at Citi Wealth, commented, "We are relentlessly modernizing our technology platforms to deliver state-of-the-art capabilities – bringing advanced functionality, innovation, and personalization to both clients and colleagues. This commitment also optimizes our operations and provides truly tailored client experiences. At Citi Wealth, we have already seen the significant impact of AI with the launch of AskWealth and Advisor Insights for the Wealth business in North America, enhancing operational efficiency and tailoring client experiences. We are incredibly excited to scale these proven AI innovations globally, bringing significant added value to our clients across the Hong Kong market and beyond."
Dipendra Malhotra, Head of Wealth Technology at Citi, added, "The rapid evolution of our industry demands a bold vision for technological transformation. At Citi Wealth, we are architecting an industry-leading technological backbone, powered by strategic partnerships with innovators. This empowers our colleagues to deliver deeply personalized client experiences, establishing Citi as a pioneer in human-AI collaboration that fundamentally enhances value for both our colleagues and clients."
Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Services, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said, "AI is transforming wealth management - from streamlining operations and risk management to delivering deep personalization and actionable insights. Market leaders like Citi are leading this shift by not just upgrading technology, but driving a full-scale transformation across culture, processes, systems and capabilities. Responsible data use, executive commitment, and retraining are all critical to unlocking AI's full potential, but perhaps the most important is keeping the human in the loop from governance all the way through to relationship management, because trust is the currency of the digital economy."
Lareina Wang, Chair, FinTech Association of Hong Kong, said "This forum was a powerful demonstration of the collaborative spirit driving Hong Kong's fintech ecosystem. Bringing together regulators, financial institutions, and technology innovators is essential to responsibly harness the transformative power of AI. The FTAHK is proud to partner with industry leaders like Citi Hong Kong and Mastercard to foster these critical dialogs, especially by the participation of members from our AI Strategic Advisory Council. By uniting diverse perspectives, we can accelerate Hong Kong's journey to becoming a leading AI-ready economy, ensuring the city remains at the forefront of financial innovation."
The forum marked a significant step in Hong Kong's journey towards an AI-enabled financial hub. By facilitating the responsible adoption of AI, Hong Kong is ready to become a future-ready leader in the rapidly evolving global landscape, with Citi actively contributing to this transformative vision.
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Photo 1: Leading industry experts, regulators, and innovators gather at the "Creating AI Ready Economy" forum in Hong Kong, fostering dialogs to shaping the future of AI-driven financial innovation (From left to right):
- Dr. Miles Wen, Co-founder & CEO of Fano
- Sarah O, Head of Digital Growth & Cards and Unsecured Lending Sales, Citibank Hong Kong
- Tancho Fingarov, SVP, Head of Business & Market Insights for Asia Pacific, Mastercard
- Aveline San, Chief Executive Officer and Banking Head of Citi Hong Kong
- Carmen Chu, Executive Director, Banking Supervision of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
- Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
- Joe Bonanno, Head of Data Analytics & Innovation at Citi Wealth
- Dipendra Malhotra, Head of Wealth Technology at Citi
- Vicky Kong, Head of Wealth, Asia North & Australia at Citi
- Nailesh Shah, Head of Digital Platform & Content Commercialization, Citibank Hong Kong
- Nicole Bodack, Managing Director, Banking & Capital Markets, APAC at Accenture
Photo 3: Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (left), discusses the regulatory vision for AI, underscoring Hong Kong's commitment to fostering a secure and well-regulated environment for AI-driven advancements during a Fireside Chat moderated by Vicky Kong, Head of Wealth, Asia North & Australia at Citi (right).
Photo 4: (2nd from the left to right) Joe Bonanno, Head of Data Analytics & Innovation at Citi Wealth, Carmen Chu, Executive Director (Banking Supervision) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Michael Yue, Managing Director and General Manager at Google Hong Kong, discuss how AI is revolutionizing the banking and wealth management landscape during the panel discussion moderated by Aveline San, Chief Executive Officer and Banking Head of Citi Hong Kong (first from the left).
Photo 5: (2nd from the left to right) Dipendra Malhotra, Head of Wealth Technology at Citi, Tancho Fingarov, SVP, Head of Business & Market Insights for Asia Pacific at Mastercard, and Nicole Bodack, Managing Director, Banking & Capital Markets APAC at Accenture discuss how Agentic AI is transforming financial services, during the panel discussion moderated by Dr. Miles Wen, Co-founder & CEO of Fano (first from the left).
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