City University of Macau School of Finance Seminar Series [19]: China Life – GuangFa Bank Joint Lecture: “Financial Industry Understanding and Global Perspective”, was held on 27th February 2025 at Ho Yin Conference Center, Taipa Campus. Mr. Lenpad Shi, Training Manager (Sales) and Team Support Supervisor of China Life Insurance (Oversea) Company Limited, Macau Branch, was invited as the speaker for the seminar. Attendees included Mr. Paul Chan, Assistant General Manager of Personal Agent Department, Mr. Dino Kam, Senior Branch Manager and Associate Dean Khong Yueng Wah Eva of the Faculty of Finance.

Mr. Lenpad Shi, Training Manager of the Personal Agent Department of China Life Insurance (Overseas) Co., Ltd. Macau Branch, has previously served as product instructor at China Telecom (Macau) Co., Ltd. and wealth manager at an insurance company in Macau. He has also achieved the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) qualification for several consecutive years. With a Master's degree in Finance from the City University of Macau, Mr. Shi has solid professional knowledge and practical skills. He is committed to training insurance agents, enhancing the professionalism of the team and providing quality wealth management and insurance services to clients.

Mr. Shi firstly discusses the supervision of financial institutions by the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM), which guides, coordinates and monitors the markets in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the markets of monetary, financial, foreign exchange and insurance activities to ensure their proper functioning, as well as supervises the operators of these markets to ensure the stability of the financial system. The financial market has important functions such as capital accumulation, resource allocation, economic regulation and economic response. Banking, securities, insurance, these three industries, also known as the three pillars of finance. Banks in every country are in an important financial position, in addition to the basic deposit and loan business, there are trading finance, exchange rate, interbank dismantling, etc.; securities are mainly engaged in stocks, bonds, futures and other trading business; insurance is mainly divided into social insurance and commercial insurance. Social insurance, including old age, medical care, unemployment, work injury, maternity insurance; commercial insurance is divided into property insurance and life insurance. Insurance is the protection of the country and the people, is the basic means of risk management under the conditions of market economy. These three industries influence each other and promote the steady development of the financial industry.

Mr. Shi analyzed the impact of the current economic environment on Macau's financial industry from the perspective of changes in the global financial market. As an important pillar, the modern financial industry will have more opportunities in wealth management, insurance innovation and green finance in the future. As an important bridge for financial cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, Macao should fully utilize its geographical advantages to attract more international financial institutions to participate in the local market, promote the upgrading of Macao's financial industry, and further enhance Macao's position as a financial hub in the Greater Bay Area.

In his outlook for the markets in 2025, Mr. Shi explores some of the key themes that investors should consider: whether the U.S. economy can achieve a soft landing; how to counteract a strengthening U.S. dollar; reevaluating fixed-income investing; the accelerating evolution of the supply chain as a result of Trump's tariffs; the richness of the opportunities in Asia, despite the challenges; why building artificial intelligence infrastructure is a boon; the importance of diversification in building an investment portfolio; and perspectives on U.S. and developed market equities and the importance of diversification in portfolio construction. Facing the trend of digital transformation in the financial market, Mr. Shi said that the application of artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain technology is changing the financial service model and enhancing market efficiency and security. He highlighted that with the popularization of new financial technologies such as mobile payment and Robo-Advisor, customer demand for digital financial services will continue to grow in the future, and practitioners need to be technologically sensitive in order to adapt to market changes. In addition, he also pointed out that the financial regulatory system in Macau is being gradually improved, which will provide a favorable environment for the development of more financial innovation business and promote the industry to move towards a higher level of professionalism and internationalization. The opportunities for Macau's financial market are: attracting foreign capital to promote economic diversification; upgrading the standard of financial services to facilitate industrial upgrading; and strengthening regional cooperation to integrate into the overall development of the country.

During the interactive session, students actively engaged with Mr. Shi and he shared his insights and suggestions on financial career development based on his own experience in the industry, and encouraged the young generation to actively participate in the market, enhance their professionalism and grasp the development opportunities of the industry. He emphasized that with the deepening of the linkage between Macao's financial market and the Greater Bay Area, there will be more cross-border development opportunities for young financial talents in the future, and suggested that young people who aspire to join the financial industry should plan their career development direction as early as possible and cultivate an international perspective. He also emphasized that continuous learning and keeping abreast of the latest fintech trends would be the key for future practitioners to stand out.

The faculty and students of the Faculty of Finance expressed their sincere gratitude to Manager Shi for his vivid and insightful sharing. The students actively exchanged ideas and interacted with the guests, gaining a deeper understanding of the direction of Macao's economic diversification. They acquired a comprehensive knowledge of Macao's financial institutions and grasped the dynamics and outlook of the global financial market and noted that the seminar was highly informative and inspiring, providing a clearer perspective on the development trends and challenges of the modern financial market. The Faculty of Finance look forward to more exchanges and insights from senior executives in the financial industry.