Speakers at the Hong Kong conference next week are expected to discuss economics, trade and political uncertainties Maria Konnikova, a renowned author, psychologist and poker player, will discuss uncertainty at next week’s Asian Investment Conference (AIC) in Hong Kong, a topic that is certain to be at the front of mind for attendees of the event, hosted by UBS. She will be among the dozens of policymakers, economists, and robotics scientists to speak at the AIC, which was launched 28 years ago by Credit Suisse, now part of UBS. Niall Macleod, the curator of the event and UBS’ head of product management for the Asia-Pacific region, said the conference would open with discussions on economics, trade and political issues, before moving into strategies for managing uncertainty.
“What are the tools you can utilise to try and handle the things you can’t see, the things you can’t necessarily predict?” he said.
The political and economic uncertainties are far greater than normal, he said.
“It’s providing a real challenge to investors,” he added.
In early April, US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on all its trading partners, with China facing the heaviest duties. Global markets tumbled on the news and China applied its own tariffs on US imports. Last week, China and the US agreed to a 90-day truce on tariffs. China said it would lower duties on US imports to 10 per cent from 125 per cent, while the US would cut its tariffs to 30 per cent from 145 per cent. Macleod said when he started planning the event six months ago, he was unsure whether tariffs and trade would still be relevant. “Six months on, it is one of the key debates,” he said.
The AIC was expected to welcome more than 3,500 participants – including institutional investors, companies, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices – up from over 3,000 last year, UBS said. The programme also includes a session focused on wealth management in Singapore ahead of the main conference, which runs from May 27 to 30 in Hong Kong.
About 80 speakers – including Pascal Lamy, the former head of the World Trade Organization; Raghuram Rajan, a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India; and Olivier Blanchard, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund – will address topics ranging from economics and geopolitics to artificial intelligence. Simone Biles, the famous American gymnast, will also speak at the event, on the topic of resilience. “When you think about the hours and hours and hours she’s put in to become this iconic, successful gymnast, she certainly inspires me,” Macleod said. “When you look at the uncertainties in the economy and how you deal with uncertainty, a lot of it is about being resilient,” he said.
