The 19th International Finance Forum

The 19th International Finance Forum Annual Meeting will take place between December 2 to 4 in Guangzhou with packed meetings and events centred on the theme of "the Ever-Changing World: Reshaping Our Shared Future". The Meeting is co-organised by the International Finance Forum and the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality.

World leaders to address the Meeting virtually include António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Han Seung-soo, Chairperson of the Council of Presidents of the UN General Assembly and Co-chairman of the IFF, Xie Zhenhua, China's Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Jin Liqun, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Mari Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships of the World Bank among others.

The world faces enormous challenges as countries scramble to fight runaway inflation amid energy and food crises, China's economy is being disrupted by sporadic outbreaks of Covid-19 and the need to address climate crisis becomes ever more urgent. This year's meeting will bring together world leaders, executives of global leading financial institution and enterprises as well as academics and think tanks to discuss major global issues and challenges. The conference  focuses on areas including global economic outlook, debt risks and prevention, climate investment and carbon pricing, global value and supply chains, sustainable development, the Belt and Road Initiative as well as growth of the Greater Bay Area. 

Guests such as Henry Paulson, Founder and Chairman of the Paulson Institute, Mark Tucker, Chairman of HSBC and David Schwimmer, CEO of London Stock Exchange Group will also speak at the three-day conference.

Zhu Xian, Vice-President and Secretary-General of the IFF and former Vice-President of the World Bank said: "As an influential and high-level platform for global finance, the IFF strives to convene a strategic dialogue for global finance, strengthen global communication and cooperation, foster innovation and push for sustainable development. This year's Annual Meeting will also play a key role in promoting Guangzhou's open market, accelerating the growth of the Greater Bay Area and the internationalisation of its financial market."

The IFF is to release the Global Finance and Development Report, its annual report on global economy as well as China's economic outlook in 2023.

During the three-day conference, the IFF will unveil winners of its Green Finance Award to reward financial institutions and enterprises for their efforts in mitigating climate change.

The International Finance Forum (IFF) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental international organisation founded in Beijing in October 2003, and established by financial leaders from more than 20 countries, and regions, including China, the United States, the European Union, emerging countries and leaders of international organisations such as the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IFF is a long-standing, high-level platform for dialogue and communication and multilateral cooperation and has been upgraded to F20 (Finance 20) status.