People

Dr. Peter So is a strategic and foresight practitioner with a global vision and over 30 years of financial experience gained from leadership roles at major investment banks. He believes an interdisciplinary knowledge base, lifelong learning, and innovation are essential drivers to future success. He headed securities research divisions from a diversity of corporate cultures in Citigroup (US), Credit Agricole Indosuez (France), ING (Netherlands), Schroders (UK), Macquarie Group (Australia), DBS Group (Singapore), and China Construction Bank International (CCBI, China). His strong leadership and forward-looking capabilities led to his promotion from a research role to co-Managing Director and Board Director of CCBI Securities, overseeing operations in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and the US.

Dr. So has been instrumental in over 200 IPO (Initial Public Offerings), mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt issues, and sustainable financing projects in Asia, through which he evaluated numerous successful business models and developed innovative valuation tools applicable to a wide range of industries. With his dynamic teams, he has helped develop many mid-sized companies into industry leaders – and even Hang Seng Index Constituent stocks – by conducting intensive in-depth research and executing collaborative global marketing strategies. Dr. So’s entrepreneurship was pivotal in transforming CCBI’s small research team in 2008 into a highly respected and influential market force within a few years after the Global Financial Crisis. Having navigated through multiple financial crises, he has honed exceptional crisis management skills and built strong resilience.

Dr. So and his research teams achieved high rankings across many sectors in Asiamoney and other international Brokers’ polls. In 2010, Asiamoney ranked CCBI the “Best Local Brokerage in Hong Kong #1”. Dr. So also personally achieved high rankings among “Best Strategist in Hong Kong” and “Best Economist in Hong Kong”in various years in Asiamoney’s polls. Dr. So was among the leads in driving his organisation’s technological transformational change, which laid a good foundation for it to actively participate in the capital and asset management markets (especially in the emerging industries), gaining high public recognition and numerous championship awards.  Dr. So received multiple accolades for Product Innovation, Brand Building, and Transformation Champion for many years at CCBI.

Dr. So is a firm believer that people are the cornerstone of any organization’s success. He actively developed and marketed innovative ideas to global investors and senior corporate management, inspiring his teams to learn and think outside the box to create value for stakeholders. Under his coaching, numerous analysts have gone on to become leaders in multinational corporations. Dr. So regularly participated in conferences and media interviews (e.g. Bloomberg, CNBC, HK Economic Times and HK Economic Journal) to share his distinctive analytical insights and contribute to advancing the investment skills of the community. He also serves as a mentor for HKU, CUHK, HKICPA, and HKCGI, and is a frequent speaker on sustainability topics at various universities.

Dr. So’s professional network spans across accountancy, law, finance, banking and other industries, offering an invaluable platform for his mentees to connect with industry professionals, gain insights into emerging industry practices, and explore promising opportunities. Dr. So is currently the Vice Chairman of the Professional Committee of Financial Services of Hong Kong Association of China Business, an organisation dedicated to supporting professionals and enterprises in advancing their careers and businesses connected to China.

With a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Hong Kong, an MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a DBA from the University of Hull, Dr. So is committed to lifelong learning across disciplines and borders. He has advanced his education in Sustainable Finance, Financial Engineering, Negotiation, Leadership, Fintech, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at top-tier universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, Peking, Tsinghua, Stanford, Harvard, and MIT. The alumni associations of these Universities provide valuable platform to engage with top talent to gain diverse, practical insights. Recognizing vast opportunities in corporate foresight, sustainability, digital asset and Islamic finance, Dr. So proactively developed expertise in these areas and has become a Certified Foresight Practitioner, CESGA, CSFM, Certified DiAM and CIFE. He now actively shares his insights with professional communities.

Dr. So has authored numerous publications that integrate innovative techniques in ESG investing, asset allocation, investment strategy, sector and company analysis. These works have been disseminated globally to professional investors and leading international platforms (e.g. Thomson Reuters, Factset and Datastream).

Further information on Dr. Peter So is available at Linkedin. (www.linkedin.com/in/dr-peter-so/)