Budapest Renminbi Initiative Conference 2023

The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) launched the Budapest Renminbi Initiative Conference at the end of March 2015 in connection with the central bank’s Renminbi Program to strengthen ties between PBoC and MNB. The aim of the Budapest Renminbi Initiative is to take advantage of the growing international weight of the renminbi, to strengthen Budapest's regional role in the Chinese-Central European economic relationship and to strengthen Chinese-Hungarian foreign economic relations. An important goal of the MNB with the initiative is to broaden the range of investment and financing sources in Hungary and to promote the growth of cross-border economic activity.

The Budapest Renminbi Initiative Conference, to be held for the seventh time on 4 May 2023 in hybrid format (preferably in physical format, broadcasted online), intends to contribute to these goals through the development of Chinese-Hungarian economic diplomatic relations and international knowledge sharing. This year the conference will be organized in partnership with the Bank of China CEE Limited.

THE CONFERENCE WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED ON YOUTUBE AND ZOOM ON 4th MAY 2023

Budapest Renminbi Initiative Conference 2023

The main topic of the 2023 conference will be the financial interconnectivity and green transition, the opportunities of central banks in the environmentally sustainable financial transformation, and the role of the renminbi in the CEE region. Lead speeches and panel discussions will be organized into two main topics:

Budapest as a financial hub in the CEE region – Renminbi financing and Chinese banks in Hungary
Sustainable finance, green funding and opportunities for central banks

Budapest Renminbi Initiative Conference 2023

„Financial interconnectivity and green transition”

4 May 2023 (Thursday)

Venue: MNB Headquarter, Budapest, Krisztina krt. 55, 1013

Preliminary program

9:30- 10:00 Registration

10:00-11:00 High-level opening ceremony

Mr. Mihály PATAI, Deputy Governor, MNB
Mr. Chao YANG, Minister-counsellor and Chargé d'Affaires, a.i., the Embassy of China in Hungary
Mr. Chen XU, Chairman, Bank of China (Europe) S.A.
Mr. Jun ZHANG, Dean of School of Economics, Fudan University

11:00-11:20 Coffee break

11:20-12:20 Panel 1.: Budapest as a financial hub in the CEE region – Renminbi financing and Chinese banks in Hungary

The Central and Eastern European region, including our country, is in an important location on the map of the financial world: a link between European markets and the New Silk Road. Therefore, the financial networks of the two economic powerhouses connect in the region's capitals.
Over the past decade Budapest, Warsaw and Vienna have become important centres of the foreign activity of Chinese giant banks promoting the internationalisation of the renminbi.
The panel discussion aims to explore the business opportunities in the CEE region for Chinese players and provide insights into the domestic and regional activities of the world's largest financial institutions.

Lead speaker

Mr. Kexin LI, CEO, Bank of China (CEE) Zrt.

Panel discussion

Moderator:

Mr. László VASTAG, Executive Director, MNB

Discussants:

Mr. Zhanqing CHEN, Deputy General Manager, China Construction Bank (Europe) SA
Ms. Ruixue FANG, Chief Representative, China Development Bank Budapest Representative Office
Mr. Xiaowei ZHAO, Assistant General Manager, ICBC (Europe) S.A. Luxemburg

12:20-13:20 Lunch

13:20-14:20 Panel 2.: Sustainable finance, green funding and opportunities for central banks

Nowadays, there is no question that financial actors need to take climate change risks into account. The markets for several traditional financial instruments have now been extended with a green segment: green government bonds, green mortgage bonds, green housing loans.
Many central banks, including the MNB and the PBoC, have also played a pioneering role in making finance sustainable and greening the financial system.
The aim of the panel discussion is to present the major dilemmas facing the environmentally sustainable financial transformation, the current development of green financial instruments markets and the opportunities for central bank involvement.

Lead speaker

Mr. Ádám BANAI, Executive Director, MNB

Panel discussion

Moderator:

Mr. Pál Péter KOLOZSI, Director, MNB

Discussants:

Mr. Alain NAEF, Research Economist, Banque de France
Mr. Wing Thye WOO, Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of California, Davis
Ms. Bei ZHANG, Deputy Director-General, Research Bureau of the People’s Bank of China (online)

14:20-14:30 Closing remarks