The Hong Kong event brought together IR professionals and capital market experts to explore how the IR function should adapt
When volatility and concentration risk become part of the backdrop for Chinese IROs targeting investors globally, new challenges emerge. From tailored engagement strategies to navigating unfamiliar capital market expertise, securing long-term investors requires consistency, long-term engagement and market insight.
The IR Impact Forum – Greater China 2025 – held in December at the Conrad Hotel, Hong Kong – brought together more than 120 professionals to examine how investor relations is evolving amid shifting global capital flows, rising investor scrutiny and rapid technological change. The panels, many of which were led by award-winning IROs, covered practical advice to adapt existing IR tools to meet changing investor expectations. Our speakers provided real-life guidance for IR teams to expand their current capabilities and remain well equipped when markets fragment.
Below are four key takeaways from the event that could transform your IR strategy.
From communications-led IR to an operations-driven engagement
The first panel of the day featured three speakers: Qi (Leila) Guo, investor relations and strategic investment associate of Shanghai-based, US-listed pre-owned consumer electronics company AT Renew; Michael Letros, specialist sales solutions for corporate boards, C-suite and investor relations at Bloomberg; and Jason Paltrowitz, director and executive vice president of corporate service at US-based OTC Markets Group. Each focused on how traditional engagement is no longer sufficient for today’s investors, with global audiences requiring a shift away from standard formats to a more interactive approach.
‘We shifted the traditional and standard presentations into an experience-first IR strategy,’ said Guo. ‘Instead of just presenting numbers, we literally opened our doors so investors could witness how our business models work first-hand.’ By hosting investor days, Guo said her company’s investors could see first-hand AT Renew’s automated inspection center and ‘see how the business model works themselves’.
This operational shift was framed as a foundation for credibility. ‘Decision-making in investments first starts with confidence,’ said Paltrowitz. ‘Once the trust kicks in, then the analytical and logical work begins.’ That approach demonstrates how IR increasingly helps as an extension of operational capabilities that must demonstrate a strong strategy, execution and value creation.
Prioritize consistency to elevate investability
As the market becomes increasingly defined by volatility, consistency emerged as a critical factor to improve investor confidence, particularly in anchoring engagement around long-term value drivers. ‘Market volatility necessitates a more thoughtful approach to conversations,’ said Guo. ‘We integrate long-term business value and ESG alignment into our dialogue framework so investors refocus on structural drivers rather than short-term noise.’
However, the view from the buy side was that stable messaging is a core factor in maintaining conviction. The first panel discussed how portfolio managers are under constant pressure to outperform and need reassurance and consistency in their narrative. They noted that consistency is not about repetition, but is instead a form of discipline for messaging, disclosures and engagement that reinforces credibility over time. ‘You have to continue to have consistency in that message over a long period of time to build that trust and to gain those investments,’ said Paltrowitz.
Governance and security in the age of AI
AI has a growing presence in IR workflows in Greater China. ‘We use AI to improve work efficiency, from translation to summarizing information,’ said Mandy Chao, head of investor relations at KGI Financial. ‘We have many internal and external meetings so AI can help us summarize such information for a report, for example.’
While the focus on education and adoption of AI increases, governance and data security remain at the forefront of IR concerns. Lei Song, executive director and head of product research at New Harvest Wealth Securities Company, who also frequently uses AI tools, said: ‘AI is already integrated into our daily workflow but we need to do our due diligence in checking each product it helps us with.’ She added that AI can enhance accessibility if used effectively, but it does not replace ever replace human oversight. ‘AI is like a bridge for the investors and us,’ she added, saying it cannot replace her own judgment and relationship management, and that intervention remains essential to maintain accuracy of its outputs.
Targeting investors beyond your comfort zone
Concentration risk, shifting global capital flows and an overreliance on the traditional investor base are increasingly challenging Chinese IROs. The day’s final session – a fireside chat with Gleb Diachkob-Gertcev, director of investor relations at the largest UAE steel manufacturer, Emsteel Group – highlighted that the Middle East was an area of ‘growing opportunity’ for Greater China’s listed companies.
Diachkob-Gertcev explained there was an ‘opportunity to bridge two fast-growing markets’, with investors in the UAE having growing interest in sectors such as ‘technology, digital infrastructure and in real estate,’ particularly sovereign wealth funds. However, success in these markets is a long-term venture that requires steady but consistent engagement with local brokers, investors and their teams, he added.
‘I had to build my investor relations function from the ground up and learn the international market and make contacts,’ Diachkob-Gertcev said. ‘They helped me find brokers and local contacts so I could expand my database.’ A key takeaway for IROs would be to ‘find a local broker who knows the names, who knows the people.’
He later added that a clear and meaningful equity story is at the core of the IRO’s recipe for success. ‘You take your most credible, accessible senior spokesperson and you match them with the highest-ranking decision maker on the investor side and you put in a concise equity story,’ he suggested. He further emphasized that a trust-based equity story is ‘a reliable growth strategy aligned with the national strategy of China’ which will help local investors to understand that ‘they actually invest in not only the future of your company but also the future of the country.’
