HK to outperform London in the global financial centre rankings in 2027: global financial leader

Hong Kong is expected to outperform London in the global financial centre rankings in 2027, Michael J. Sacks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, GCM Grosvenor asserted on the "Capturing Alpha beyond the Index" forum at the 5th Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit on Wednesday, confident that "by this time next year, Hong Kong will surpass London."

Meanwhile, on the "Asia: Growth Engines and Investment Horizons" forum, global financial leaders lauded the city for gathering huge inflow of talents from everywhere, connecting global countries with the rest of Asia and offering world-class human capital. 

Hong Kong becomes "magnet spot" for global talent 

Ben Way, Global Head of Macquarie Asset Management, which is regionally headquartered in Hong Kong, pointed out that the city’s capital markets position serve both as a gateway for equity into funds and a global connector. "It’s where we find the best talent, where we connect with the rest of Asia and increasingly other parts of the world, particularly the Middle East," Way noted.

Jeffrey Perlman, chief executive of Warburg Pincus, said his business continues to find compelling enterprises headquartered in the region, citing their buyout of civil aviation distributor Topcast. 

"Hong Kong is going to continue to be very important to us, and we’ve had an office here for over 30 years and will continue to lean into that," Perlman stated.

"We are seeing a huge inflow of talents from everywhere—not only from mainland China, but also from the rest of the world," said Lei Zhang, Hillhouse Investment founder and chairman. 

AI development: moving from hype to ROI

Zhang noted that global investors and financial markets are now demanding return from artificial intelligence investment. He highlighted that China possesses massive advantages in talent and resources, while the broader Asian market exhibits a massive appetite for AI application, emphasizing that corporate leaders must adopt a mindset of "continuous learning" and unlearn old playbooks to succeed.

Weijian Shan, PAG executive chairman and co-founder, pointed to remarkable local performance under the age of AI development, highlighting Hong Kong’s recent GDP growth rate of 5.2 percent outpacing mainland China's 4.6 percent.

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