Beijing hosts global financial services networking event for first time

China's pivotal role in the global trade system makes it a key player in cross-border payments and trade, which allows its capital Beijing to gain global spotlight and become the host city of the 2024 Swift International Banker's Operation Seminar (Sibos), a signature international conference in the financial industry.

The four-day Sibos opened on Monday in Beijing, making history as this is the first time the event takes place in the Chinese mainland.

Industry insiders say as Beijing gradually rises as a financial hub in the global market, it's interesting to see Sibos being held here.

"I think Beijing is definitely a future hub and it's interesting to see the pivot to new markets, including here. So it's very exciting to be in Beijing. There's a huge move at the moment from all organizations to be more effective to try and get rid of legacy infrastructures, obviously to use the cloud more efficiently and those are the topics that we are very much at the center of at Ab Initio, so [we're] looking forward to discussing those with our customers," said Mikko Hietanen, Account Management of Ab Initio Software, an American multinational enterprise software corporation specialized in high-volume data processing applications and enterprise application integration.

"China is a huge financial hub in the world. I think that's part of the reason why SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) chose Beijing, because in particular, all these years, the Western hemisphere has already frequently [served] as the host. Now is a really perfect time for a shift to have it in Asia, particularly in Beijing," said Rifki Ega Syahputra, Head of International Financial Institutions at Bank Mandiri, the largest bank in Indonesia in terms of assets, loans and deposits.

This year's Sibos gathers nearly 10,000 participants from over 150 countries and regions to discuss banking and payments, technology and innovation, and environmental, social and governance strategies.

Under the theme "Connecting the future of finance", the event is set to promote communication between China and international financial institutions and drive the financial digital transformation.

Beijing hosts global financial services networking event for first time

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), marking its sixth launching anniversary on Thursday, has recorded over 12.7 million inbound and outbound vehicle crossings in the past six years.

As a major link among the three cities for travelers and commodities, the bridge sees over 10 million passenger vehicles and over 2.2 million cargo vehicles passing.

As the "Northbound Travel for Hong Kong and Macao Vehicles" policies were implemented in 2023, travel across the three places was made more convenient. Since then, a total of 3.8 million vehicles with only Hong Kong or Macao licenses have passed through HZMB Zhuhai port, accounting for over 60 percent of the total and significantly contributing to the increase of the traffic.

Currently, the vehicle traffic at HZMB Zhuhai port averaged over 16,000 per day, with a peak exceeding 22,000. The bridge now continues to serve as a key link to promote trade and communication among the three cities.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge records over 12.7 million vehicle crossings in 6 years