Supported by the Financial Markets Committee
Speakers:
Grant Niven, Former Head of Group Digital, Banque Saudi Franci
Paul Sommerin, Partner, APAC Head of Digital & Technology, Capco
Rachel Sault, Regional Head of Transformation, Digital Business Services, HSBC Middle East, North Africa & Turkey
Moderator:
Jill Wong, Partner, Reed Smith LLP; Chair of BritCham Financial Markets Committee
Digital Asset Adoption: Middle East and Hong Kong sharing!
With John Lee's recent trip to the Middle East, there is a lot of attention on how Hong Kong and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can collaborate and learn from each other. Digital transformation and the use of digital assets are a hot trend in the finance industry, with regulators and financial service companies looking to understand the impacts and navigate the necessary regulations, build the economy, and safely serve their customers. The MENA region has attracted more established and new players compared to Hong Kong in the usage of Digital Assets. We would like to take this opportunity to discuss the reasons why the Digital Asset landscape in the MENA region has become an attractive place to invest, and where Hong Kong can follow suit.
About the speakers
Grant is a founding partner of Mingzulu, a boutique management consultancy & investment advisory based out of the UAE. Prior to setting up Mingzulu, Grant was Head of Group Digital at Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) over a 3-year period and accountable for defining and executing the Bank-wide digital vision and strategic initiatives across the organisation. Originally from, Scotland, UK, Grant has worked in several executive roles over the last 20 years spanning the financial services industry in Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining BSF, Grant held a partner position with EY where he led the Technology Consulting practice for the financial services sector across the MENA region. Grant is a regular public speaker and prominent voice at leading events across the Middle East region on the topics of Future of Financial Services, Beyond Digital Banking, Fintech, Open Finance and Adoption of Disruptive Technologies.
Paul leads Capco’s Asia Pacific Digital, Data and Technology Business and is based out of Hong Kong. Paul sits on Capco’s Asia Pacific Leadership Team and also Wipro‘s Middle East, Africa and Asia Leadership Team. Prior to Capco, Paul spent 8 years with EY based in Dubai. During this time, Paul led some of the largest transformations across the Middle East and Africa, including working with the Central Banks and IMF in Egypt, Pakistan, and Iran on modernization of the country’s financial markets. He has worked with some of the largest Financial Institutions on their Innovation, Fintech and Technology agenda’s. He helped create the technology platform for the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia and Paul was the Global Client Service Partner for ENBD, where he is responsible for managing the entire global relationship working closely with the Dubai Government.
Rachel leads the Transformation for HSBC in the Middle East and Turkey (MENAT) and is based in Dubai. She has been with the Group for nearly seventeen years, working across change, banking operations, corporate banking, trade finance, risk management and regulatory relations. Her career has been largely international, undertaking assignments in Singapore, Hong Kong, USA, UK and Australia prior to UAE. Today Rachel oversees the whole portfolio of transformation within MENAT and associated investment in regulatory demand and strategic development.
About the moderator
Jill has extensive experience advising on banking and securities laws, as well as data privacy, cybercrime and financial crime issues. She advises on both contentious (regulatory investigations, internal inquiries, dawn raids, etc.) and non-contentious (licensing and approvals, drafting client documents and disclosures and carrying out regulatory gap analysis) matters. Jill is also active in advising clients on emerging regulatory issues, such as virtual assets trading and exchanges, Web3, NFTs and ESG.
She has hands-on practical experience in liaising with regulators, advising on regulatory compliance and implementing changes to internal practices, conducting internal investigations and advising on corporate governance. Jill has represented clients, both institutions and individuals, in numerous regulatory investigations and disciplinary inquiries. In addition to the financial services regulators (SFC, HKMA, HKEX), she also deals with other authorities such as the police, ICAC, AFRC and the Privacy Commissioner.
Jill was deputy general counsel at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and was in-house counsel at Credit Suisse. She has also worked in leading international law firms in Hong Kong. This combination of different legal roles allows her to provide constructive insights into the issues and challenges facing financial institutions, listed companies, their senior managers and professional advisers.
Pricing
- Member: HK$140
- Non-Member: HK$250
Terms & Conditions
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