CPL Seminar - 20180911

      

      Our fourth seminar took place on 11 September, 2018. Part 1 of the seminar was entitled《理性的呼喚─從手術室到社會大舞台》was delivered by our speaker, Dr. Edward Leong Che-hung, GBS, OBE, JP (梁智鴻醫生).  Among his many official positions held in the past, he was the Chairman of Hospital Authority, Chairman of Council of Hong Kong University, a non-official member of the Executive Council and a member of the Legislative Council. Dr. Leong came from a medical family with both his father and grandfather practicing as medical doctors. He said he could have become a medical specialist in private practice and to limit his social circle within his medical field and his own clinic. But he chose to broaden his vision in relation to social services although that would mean a big opportunity cost for him and facing a lot of conflicting interests and arguments in the society. He mentioned a few cases in his life: his plan and action to address the medical staff shortage issue in Hospital Authority; the intensive conflict between employers and employees while he served as the Chairman of Standard Working Hours Committee and the few fierce student movements in the university when he represented the university to negotiate and settle. With his more than 40 years of social service, Dr Leong shared with us the joy and benefits he could get as compared to a private-practice medical doctor.

      Part 2 of the seminar was conducted by Mr. Edmond Wong, a seasoned professional banker, with over 30 years working experience in international banks in Hong Kong, of which 20 years were spent in Raiffeisen Bank International AG in Hong Kong. He represented the bank in securing bank representative office licence in 1998 and then a full banking licence in 2012 when he became the President of the bank. The HKMA tender for the first batch of virtual banking licences in Hong Kong was closed in August and there were 29 submitted tenders. Many of the tenderers were fintech companies instead of banking corporations. In the course of his speech, Mr. Wong explained to us the definition and nature of virtual banking. By using blockchain technology, Mr. Wong believes that it will revolutionize the banking and investment environment. Virtual banking is able to significantly cut transaction cost to benefit all the users. For example, a corporate bond issued in Africa can be easily broken down into very small investment units for smaller investors in HK, who could easily purchase by a push of a computer button. The virtual banking system will of course give rise to a number of new compliance issues and challenges.