“Set Sail for GBA – Scheme for Financial Leaders of Tomorrow” Officially Kicked Off

HONG KONG, Nov 18, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Co-organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, the Kick-off Ceremony of the “Set Sail for GBA – Scheme for Financial Leaders of Tomorrow” (the “Scheme”) was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this afternoon.

The Scheme aims at building a diverse platform for business leaders to directly interact with young people in Hong Kong. Through sharing by corporate leaders on their personal development and career journey in the Greater Bay Area and the Mainland, the participating students will be inspired and get ready to prepare for their future career plans so as to unleash their potential in the Greater Bay Area. Lasting for five months, students will join activities including sharing sessions with business leaders, soft-skill workshops, visits to local institutions and job-shadowing.

— The Kick-off Ceremony was officiated by Mr Paul CHAN Mo-po, GBM, GBS, MH, JP, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr Christopher HUI Ching-yu, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Mr ZHANG Zhihua, Director General of the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Ms Salina YAN Mei-mei, JP, Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government; and Mr Daryl NG Win-kong, SBS, JP, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation.

Business leaders who participated in the Scheme and attended the Kick-off Ceremony include: (in random order)

1. Mr Paul Loo, Chief Operating Officer of Lalamove
2. Mr Jim Lai, Vice President of Tencent and Chairman of Fusion Bank
3. Mr Alan Lau, Chairman of WeSure
4. Mr Wilfred Yiu, Co-Head of Markets of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited
5. Mr Ernest Leung, Group Chief Operating Officer of WeLab
6. Mr John Ho, Chief Industrialist Investor of Janchor Partners
7. Mr Rocky Tung, Director and Head of Policy Research of Financial Services Development Council

Representatives from tertiary institutions who attended the Kick-off Ceremony include: (in random order)

1. Prof Richard Wong, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong
2. Prof Alan Chan, Vice-President, Provost of The Chinese University of Hong Kong
3. Prof Yang Wang, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
4. Ms Christine Chow, Vice-President (Administration) and Secretary of Hong Kong Baptist University
5. Prof Ben Young, Vice President (Student and International Affairs) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
6. Prof Ricky Kwok, Vice President (Students and Support) of Hong Kong Metropolitan University
7. Prof Lo Tit Wing, Associate Vice-President (Student Affairs) of City University of Hong Kong
8. Dr Simon Xu, Associate Vice President (Global Affairs) and Director of Global Affairs of The Education University of Hong Kong
9. Ms Connie Wong, Associate Director of Student Affairs of Lingnan University
10. Mr Marco Ip, Head of Career Services Section, Office of Student Affairs of Hong Kong Shue Yan University
11. Ms Karen Li, Head, Communications and Public Relations Office of Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Hong Kong

Mr Paul CHAN Mo-po, the Financial Secretary, said, “This year marks the beginning of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, which clearly states the position and role of Hong Kong, providing the best channel for Hong Kong’s integration into the national development. In addition to acting as a key link for our country’s international circulation, Hong Kong will also participate in the domestic circulation of our country through our best entry point, the Greater Bay Area.”

Mr Paul Chan Mo-po also encouraged students to treasure and seize the opportunity to be more observant, make more friends and learn more in the Mainland, so that they could be well equipped for developing their future careers.

Mr Daryl NG Win-kong, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, said, “Taking the direction from the national development plan, the Foundation will continue to strengthen the collaboration with the HKSAR Government and other relevant organisations in supporting and nurturing youths in Hong Kong to become the pivotal forces in the development of the Greater Bay Area. In the past two years, the Foundation has served more than 15,000 Hong Kong youths and funded approximately 60 projects covering various aspects including technology, art, education, sports etc. to enhance young people’s skills and personal development.”

Mr Daryl Ng also expressed his deepest gratitude to the leaders from the financial and business sectors and 12 tertiary institutions for their great support which was instrumental to the successful launch of the Scheme. This Scheme provides an invaluable opportunity to all students and therefore has generated overwhelming response. The quota was initially set for 80 participants but was finally increased to 120.

First Sharing Session Launched
The First Sharing Session was also held right after the “Set Sail for GBA – Scheme for Financial Leaders of Tomorrow” Kick-off Ceremony. Keynote speakers included Mr Christopher HUI Ching-yu, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury; Ms Salina YAN Mei-mei, Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services); and Mr Wilfred YIU, Co-Head of Markets of HKEX. They shared with the audience of over 100 students about their work experience in the Greater Bay Area and other Mainland cities.

The “Set Sail for GBA – Scheme for Financial Leaders of Tomorrow” will run for five months from now until March 2022. The participants are local students who are studying business, finance and technology related disciplines and nominated by the 12 tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. The Scheme encompasses a series of events including “Sharing Sessions”, “Local Financial and Technology Institutions Visits”, “Soft-Skill Workshops” and “Job-Shadowing”, intended to deepen the understanding of the operations of the financial, commercial and technology organisations and related industries as well as to know about the day-to-day work of business leaders. The business leaders will also provide advice on career development to students, hoping to inspire them to seize opportunities, and equip themselves in becoming the future leaders for financial industry in Greater Bay Area.

Scheme Details
The Scheme will consist of two phases: In Phase 1, a certificate signed by the organising institutions will be presented to participants with an attendance rate of 80%.

Phase 1
Event
Sharing Sessions (5 Sessions)
Invite business leaders from the financial, commercial and technology sectors to inspire and motivate participants by sharing their work experience in the Greater Bay Area and other Mainland cities.

Date/Venue
Date: November 2021 to mid-February 2022
Venue: YO PLACE
(16/F, 9 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong)

Event
Visits to Local Institutions (4 Visits)
Arrange visits to financial and technological institutions in Hong Kong for participants to understand their functions and operating modes

Date/Venue
Date: November 2021 to mid-February 2022

Event
Soft-Skill Workshops (2 Sessions)
Interview and business etiquette skills, knowledge of cities and life in the Greater Bay Area.

Date/Venue
Date: Mid-January to mid-February 2022

Venue: YO PLACE
(16/F, 9 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong)

*Please refer to the attachment 1 for the list of speakers and organisations to be visited

Phase 2
Event
Job-Shadowing
Participants can observe and understand the day-to-day work of business leaders, who also offer advice to students about their future career development.

Eligibility
The organising institutions will select 30 outstanding students to participate in Phase 2

*Please refer to the attachment 2 for the list of business leaders

For further details of the Scheme, please visit:
https://gbayouth.org.hk/en/scope/set-sail-for-gba-scheme-for-financial-leader-of-tomorrow

About Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation
The Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, established in September 2019, is a charitable organisation that mainly serves Hong Kong youth. To ride on the new era, new Greater Bay Area and new opportunities, the Foundation is a joint effort of youth leaders from various sectors. With our mission of ‘For Our Youth, For Our Future’, we support youth in their studies, careers and business development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Since our establishment, we have initiated and sponsored numerous programmes, serving more than 15,000 Hong Kong youths. We have funded approximately 60 projects covering various aspects including technology, art, education, sports etc. In 2021, we launched two key initiatives – YO PLACE and GBA Youth Card. These will allow us to establish closer ties with young people from all walks of life in Hong Kong. Operated under a membership scheme, YO PLACE is an integrated online and offline youth platform that provides information on study, career and entrepreneurship opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The Foundation is also excited to launch the GBA Youth Card in co-operation with Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Guangdong Youth Federation, Hong Kong United Youth Association and Macao Youth Federation. Hong Kong youth will appreciate the many conveniences this card offers while studying, working and living in the Greater Bay Area. In addition, the Foundation’s Wish Builder Programme sponsors diverse projects by local youth organisations for young people in Hong Kong, for example, the Dream Brewer – Pacific Coffee HKCT@GBA Entrepreneurship Training Programme and Hong Kong Youth Animator Development Programme.

For further details of the Foundation, please visit: www.gbayouth.org.hk

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