we are
Fin Society is a non-profit organization which seeks to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong finance professionals and empower next generation of finance talents. Hong Kong has long been a global financial center and it is important to maintain and strengthen such status.
We believe the key to that is to foster and cultivate young finance leaders. In order to have a successful career in the financial industry of Hong Kong, it is imperative to have a solid understanding of the financial system of Mainland China, as well as developments in various new economy and technology sectors. We aim to enrich the students’ understanding through the internships, visits and exchange of ideas with local counterparts. We have been providing internship opportunities for local students since 2015. It is our mission to provide internship opportunities at the China’s best financial institutions to over 2,000 HK students internship in the next decade.
Our flagship program is “Future Leaders in Finance” which was launched in 2015. Since then, we have partnered with the Hong Kong Government Home Affairs Bureau as well as the HK Youth Committee in running the program. This internship program allows students to intern with top financial institutions in Beijing over eight weeks during summer. They also have the chance to visit various financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), new economy and technology companies and engage in dialogue with their founders, as well as finance professionals and other venture capitalists and investment bankers in China.
Holding the same vision, we began to co-organize the “Cross-boundary Study Tour for Post-secondary Financial Talents” with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau in 2017. The six-week exchange program allows 30 students from nine universities in Hong Kong to attach to financial institutions in Shanghai, visit financial institutions and regulators and exchanges, meet with Esports and internet music startup founders based in Shanghai, and take part in exchange activities with Shanghai students. The program aims to promote the understanding of the financial markets and economic environment of the Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In 2018, sponsored by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”), we expanded our internship programs to include Shenzhen The Shenzhen Summer Internship Program is one of the programs under HKMA’s Fintech Career Accelerator Scheme 2.0, which aims to enhance Hong Kong’s fintech talent building capability to meet the growing demand from the industry and to nurture young talents at difference stages of their career development.
After completion of any of the three internships, the students will be provided with a year-long mentorship from affiliates of Fin Society. Our affiliates, who are successful finance professionals across the industry in Hong Kong, will be their mentors and provide guidance and advice to the students to help them reach their potential.
We also understand it can be challenging for the students to find ideal employment opportunities. Therefore, we have entered into a MOU with the Chinese Securities Association of Hong Kong (“CSAHK”) in May 2019. According to the MOU, CSAHK has agreed to encourage its corporate members (which includes over 120 banks, securities companies and asset management firms in Hong Kong) to give priority to our students when offering internships and full-time positions. We are planning to officially roll out this program in 2020 and will offer up to 40 internship positions to our students.
We also recognize the importance of continued development and strengthening our ecosystem. Hence, we also arrange seminars and networking events regularly for our affiliates to help them stay up to date with newest market developments and encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences. Apart from seminars and networking events, each year, we will arrange a five-day financial leadership course at the Chinese Academy of Governance in Beijing for our affiliates. The course is created exclusively for our affiliates to allow them to learn more about the history of and latest developments in onshore financial systems and relevant policies. They will also have a chance to meet and engaged in meaningful discussion with different financial regulators. The course has been well-received by our affiliates and we encourage those who haven’t joined before to join us next year.
We pledge to assist in the promotion and development of Hong Kong as an international financial center. We also work to gather feedback from finance professionals and providing suggestions to the HK Government regarding the long-term development of Hong Kong’s financial market.