Field Notes from the Hong Kong Business School Sustainable Finance Literacy Forum

A day exploring capacity building, ambition, and the challenge of de-risking green investment at Hong Kong University Business School. Speakers at the Sustainable Finance Literacy Forum included Dr. Janet Chan (HKU), Grace Kwok, Tony Ip (Tony Ip Green Architects), and Kevin Wong (Hang Seng Bank).

Following my seminar at the University of Hong Kong School of Biological Sciences, I was kindly invited to attend the Sustainable Finance Literacy Forum at the HKU Business School — a lively and forward-looking event that brought together academics, financiers, and sustainability professionals to explore how Hong Kong can position itself as the green finance hub of Asia.

The ambition is high, and it feels within reach. With its strong financial infrastructure and growing environmental agenda, Hong Kong has many of the ingredients needed to lead the region in developing sustainable finance mechanisms. What stood out most was the sense of capacity building underway — universities, banks, and policymakers are all working to strengthen understanding, skills, and confidence in this fast-moving field.

One idea that stood out in Ms Grace Kwok’s presentation was how to address risk in green investment. There was a shared understanding that supporting nature-positive projects is important, but many investors still see them as uncertain. Blended finance models which bring together public, private, and philanthropic funding to share risk — was suggested as one way to make these projects more attractive for investors.

I learned a lot. Many thanks again to Dr. Janet Chan for the kind invitation. Well done to the students leading GreenFinConnect. The forum left me encouraged that the conversations happening in Hong Kong are action-oriented and forward-looking.