The 12^th Asian Financial Forum co-hosted by the Hong Kong SAR government and Hong Kong Trade and Development Council with the theme 'Creating a Sustainable and Inclusive Future' took place in Hong Kong from January 14 to 15. Mr. Tu Guangshao, Vice Chairman & President of CIC, spoke at the session of Dialogue on China's Economic Outlook and Investment Strategies.

President Tu said in his remarks that China's economy has been increasingly interacted with the global economy, and China's economic development has become intertwined and co-dependent with the global economic development. Currently the global market is in a flux of uncertainties and hard to handle. This reality that we face speaks to trends that bear influence on the global investment market. From the perspective of global cross-border investment, four things have been on the wane that deserve our attention, including the total volume of global cross-border investment, the long-term capital in global cross-border investment, the capital flow into emerging markets, and the cycle of global cross-border investment which signifies lower stability of capital. Three reasons are behind these phenomena. The first is that global geopolitical changes like protectionism and unilateralism are weakening the global investment environment. Second, global macro policy changes including changes in monetary policies of major economies are hurting the flow of cross-border capital. Third, the global investment system is fragmenting where nations are more focused on bilateral treaties while investment disputes are on the rise.

On global investment market prospects in 2019, President Tu said that although the global investment market in the past year was described as thrilling and volatile, there are still three things to watch in the global investment market in 2019. First, people are learning from the lesson of last year and aware of the need to promote global trade and protect the global investment system, which will hopefully translates into global consensus and action to safeguard sound investment environments. Second, China's economy will maintain stable growth. The stable and healthy development of China's economy will boost global economic growth. Third, there have been changes in global capital flow and asset management industry. Over recent years, sovereign wealth funds have been rapidly rising around the globe, bringing their total asset to 7 trillion US dollars. Long-termism is embodied in the capital source, asset allocation and investment targets of sovereign wealth funds, which have major roles to play in stabilizing and facilitating global investment in the future.

On CIC's plan for 2019, President Tu summarized it as "striking a balance between change and consistency". For CIC, what remains consistent is its position as a long-term responsible investor that conducts diversified investment. Meanwhile, it needs to make changes in four aspects, including transition, which means to steadily increase alternative investment and direct investment to harvest stable returns; cooperation, which means to increase cooperation with general partners and industrial investors; connection, which means to link international partners with domestic ones to better tap into opportunities in China; and amplifying, which means to lead other investors to go global by our own investment.

On the Belt and Road Initiative, President Tu said that major investment demands are emerging in the process of advancing the Belt and Road Initiative. As a commercial and market-oriented investor, CIC should identify suitable investment targets and methods and find opportunities to invest in. Infrastructure calls for long-term development and intensive funding. This is in line with CIC's investment philosophy. As a financial investor, CIC normally cooperates with local institutions or Chinese industrial investors on Belt and Road investments. President Tu emphasized that CIC is a responsible investor that discharges its corporate social responsibilities, complies with international rules and applicable laws and regulations of recipient countries or regions, and respect local social norms and public opinion.

During the forum, President Tu also attended the workshop themed 'Financial Development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: The Future of FinTech' and delivered a keynote speech. He said that with the application of financial technology, there have emerged two diverging trends in the competition of the asset management industry, namely monopoly and differentiated competition. Financial technologies are changing the landscapes of the asset management industry and pose new requirements for financial regulation.