The eleventh lecture of the "Savantas Liberal Arts Academy Public Policy Study Programme Summer 2021" was held on 07 August. Mr Stephen Law, Managing Director of ANS Capital Limited, was the speaker. The lecture was titled “Financial Services and Fintech”. Students learned about Hong Kong's diversified financial services and the future development of financial technology.

Mr Law first analyzed the government's financial report with participants as an introduction. He pointed out that the government’s current practice of cash flow financial statement is likely to showing an incomplete picture, and it would be difficult for the public to know the current state of government debt and assets. Mr Law discussed the situation of Hong Kong's IPO and observed that the recent total deposits in Hong Kong is as high as $14 trillion. He concluded that the impact of the Hong Kong National Security Law on the market is not insignificant. Mr Law then analyzed the reasons why Hong Kong became an international financial center, including free flow of information and capital, currency stability, well established legal system, language and geographical convenience etc. After that, he discussed the roles of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and the Securities and Future Commission, comparing the different requirements for listing in Hong Kong and the United States, and different management cultures of Chinese and American companies.

Mr Law then discussed ESG (Incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance Investment Decision-Making Factors), Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), and green bonds concepts with the participants, and analyzed the four major categories of financial technology, including Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud and Big Data, and virtual currency derived from Blockchain. Finally, he expressed support for the Chinese government's recent policies on the education sector and the IT sector. The participants actively communicated with Mr Law during the Q&A session, discussing Hong Kong's tax system and modern monetary theory.