Lloyd's List Intelligence Hong Kong Outlook Forum

Paul Yeung is Managing Director and Head of Enterprise Banking, Commercial Banking, HSBC Hong Kong, where he leads the bank’s engagement with mid-market and large corporate clients across various business sectors. With over three decades of experience in commercial banking, Paul plays a strategic role in supporting Hong Kong and Mainland China enterprises as they expand internationally.

Throughout his career, Paul has held a number of senior leadership roles at HSBC. His extensive regional and international experience gives him a strong understanding of cross border business dynamics, particularly in linking Asian enterprises with Western markets.

Paul is a qualified accountant and holds academic qualifications from the University of London and the University of Hong Kong, bringing together financial expertise and strategic perspective in advising businesses on growth and international expansion.

Bjorn Hojgaard is the CEO of Anglo-Eastern Univan Group, one of the world’s foremost ship management companies. Headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices across Asia, Europe and the Americas, Anglo-Eastern has over 700 vessels under full technical management, over 500 under crew management, and more than 1,000 supervised new buildings and conversions to its credit. The group manages and provides technical services to bulk carriers, container ships, tankers, and heavy-lift, offshore and other specialty vessels.

Bjorn’s appointment at Anglo-Eastern Univan Group follows the 2015 merger with Univan Ship Management, where he was also CEO. Previously, he was Managing Director at Thome Ship Management, Brigantine Group and A.P. Moller Singapore, as well as Manager of Operations, Efficiency & IT for APM Terminals. A keen yachtsman and Master Mariner, Bjorn worked his way up through the ranks, from military service in the Royal Danish Navy to Captain of one of the largest container vessels in the A.P. Moller - Maersk merchant fleet, before moving into shore-side management.

A graduate of A.P. Moller-Maersk’s prestigious MAESTRO programme, Bjorn also trained in executive leadership strategy and organisation at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, Palo Alto, USA. He has served two terms on the Singapore Shipping Association’s Council and as Chairman of its Technical Committee (2009-2011), delivering the SSA’s draft proposal on piracy to the UN Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) in New York in June 2011.

Presently, Bjorn is Chairperson of the Marine Environment Committee (MEC) and Maritime Safety & Security Committee (MSSC) under BIMCO and a member of the BIMCO Board of Directors. He is also a board member of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board (HKMPDB) and a member of the HKMPDB’s Maritime Services Development Committee, and a general committee member of The Sailors Home and Mission to Seafarers in Hong Kong.

Previously, Bjorn was Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association (2019-2021), having sat on its Executive Committee from 2013.

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Hing Chao is the Chairman of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport, Co-founder and Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Shipping, and Board Director of the Global Maritime Forum. In driving international and regional industry collaboration, Hing is the Chairman of Bureau Veritas Global Marine and Offshore Advisory Council and Chairman of RINA’s Asia Decarbonisation Committee. He is also a founder and convenor of the Greater Bay Maritime Forum and was appointed a committee member of the Consultative Committee on Guangdong-Hong Kong Co-operation (Guanghzhou Nansha). In addition, Hing is a trustee of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, Honorary President of Institute of Seatransport, the Chairman of Port Welfare Committee of the Marine Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, and a member of The Hong Kong Committee of Nippon Kaiji Kyokai.

On driving social impact, Hing steers corporate-school partnership programme to nurture future multidisciplinary maritime talents in Liaoning province, Shandong province, Shanghai and Greater Bay Area (Shenzhen and Guangzhou). He is also a member of the Maritime Services Training Board of the Vocational and Training Council in Hong Kong.

Benjamin Kostrzewa is a partner at Hogan Lovells Cadwalader based in Hong Kong, where he advises leading companies on navigating the rapidly evolving global trade and investment landscape.

A former Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Ben brings deep experience at the intersection of trade policy, geopolitical risk, and cross-border business strategy. In private practice, he draws on his extensive knowledge of the Greater China market to advise Fortune 500 companies, U.S. and Chinese businesses, and listed companies on the “new normal” of international trade and investment rules.

Ben regularly advises clients on conflict-of-laws issues arising from export controls and sanctions, inbound and outbound investment restrictions, tariffs, customs matters, and broader geopolitical risk. He also works with companies listed, or seeking to list, on the Hong Kong and Singapore exchanges on compliance with these evolving requirements.

During his time at USTR, Ben represented the United States in WTO disputes, worked on bilateral negotiations with China, negotiated bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, and helped develop trade ties with Africa, Central America, and Europe.

Born in Tianjin, Ben has focused on U.S.-China relations throughout his career and is professionally proficient in Mandarin. He has delivered lectures on geopolitical risk and U.S.-China trade relations at Yale Law School, Columbia University, the University of Washington, and the University of Hong Kong. He is regularly quoted on U.S.-China trade matters by global media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the Financial Times, TIME, Reuters, and the South China Morning Post, and appears regularly on CNBC and Bloomberg to discuss U.S.-China relations.

Ben holds a J.D. from the University of Washington and a B.A. in East Asian Studies from The George Washington University. He also studied PRC law at Peking University.

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