Earlier this month, an elite group of chairmen and CEOs from some of the largest financial institutions in the world gathered in Hong Kong for the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit, rubbing shoulders, discussing top-of-mind issues and enjoying dinner at M+, Hong Kong’s new museum of visual culture.

While the high-level event showcased the glamorous side of Hong Kong as an international financial centre, there are multiple channels through which finance can be unleashed as a force for good, such that it can deliver social impact and bring economic windfalls for ordinary citizens. Our finance officials would do well to join hands with colleagues responsible for youth, education, culture, innovation and the environment to realise this vision.

First, the financial services sector is an important avenue for employment and career advancement for our young people, providing opportunities for upwards social mobility in a city plagued by wealth inequality. As much as Hong Kong should welcome talents from all over the world, it is important to roll out programmes that strengthen the competitiveness of students at local universities.

A good example is the “Set Sail for GBA – Scheme for Financial Leaders of Tomorrow”, organised by the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation in partnership with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau. The initiative provided a platform for students to interact directly with business leaders through sharing sessions, visits to financial institutions, and job shadowing.

While the inaugural scheme has ended, implementation of subsequent rounds would allow more young people to benefit.

Having said that, to fully realise Hong Kong’s role as a “super connector,” youngsters will need insights not only on mainland China but also on overseas markets covered by banks, securities houses and insurance companies in Hong Kong. In the future, schemes that equip our young people with knowledge of economies such as Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia would also provide critical training.

Second, finance professionals can be enlisted to promote financial literacy among residents in Hong Kong, especially those from low-income families. This would help fill a gap where underprivileged groups may not know the basics of saving, investing and managing money because of lack of access and exposure.

In the United States, a strong advocate of financial literacy education is Mellody Hobson, a financier and businesswoman who encourages teaching money skills to children so that they understand personal finance, including investing in the stock market and creating a retirement account.

While it is a good sign that the Investor and Financial Education Council is already supported by the Education Bureau, more work can be done to leverage Hong Kong’s financial expertise – provided by the many finance professionals here – to promote financial literacy education in the city.

Third, as Hong Kong seeks to attract no fewer than 200 family offices by end-2025, it is a golden opportunity to encourage family offices, which often already have investment vehicles for art, to support Hong Kong’s home-grown artists and creative professionals. As family offices set up in the city, they can become powerful advocates for the arts in Hong Kong, complementing the financial institutions already sponsoring exhibitions at our flagship museums.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Private Wealth Management Association have held a Family Office Symposium annually since 2020 during the Asian Financial Forum. Events targeting family offices during the art fair season could also be effective in connecting collectors and patrons with emerging artists from Hong Kong.

Fourth, Hong Kong’s well-developed financial services sector can step up efforts to support founders and entrepreneurs, as the city diversifies its economy and moves towards becoming an international hub for innovation and technology. Apart from mobilising private capital to invest in start-ups, the government itself can also take a more proactive role as an anchor investor.

To this end, the establishment of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, which consolidates the Hong Kong Growth Portfolio, the GBA Investment Fund and the Strategic Tech Fund, is a step in the right direction.

Fifth, players in the Hong Kong financial markets have not only issued green bonds and loans, and incorporated sustainability metrics into their investment and reporting processes; institutional investors have also started non-profit initiatives to support environmental conservation efforts in Hong Kong and globally.

The ADM Capital Foundation was set up to promote a low-carbon economy through innovative and replicable funding models, while the Sustainable Finance Initiative, initially incubated by family office RS Group, is a community of investors committed to driving social impact.

Indeed, financing is an essential element of addressing climate change and joint efforts by the finance and environment bureaus should propel Hong Kong’s financial services sector to make even larger contributions to a greener future for our citizens.

In sum, as Hong Kong emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic and seeks to re-establish itself as an international financial centre, there is an urgent need to ensure that ordinary citizens also share the fruits of these endeavours.

Our success cannot be measured solely by how many VIPs flew into Hong Kong for a single event. Instead, there should be common recognition that the financial services sector in “Asia’s World City” is not only for the elite, but for all of us who call Hong Kong home.