HKEX Chief Executive Charles Li delivered a keynote speech today (21 September) at the fourth China BioMed Innovation and Investment Conference in Suzhou, on the theme of big data in the medical and health sectors.  He noted how exchanges could support the extensive use of medical big data by deploying leading edge technology to deal with issues such as privacy protection and pricing difficulties. The integration and sharing of big data can speed up medical innovation and enhance the quality of human health, Li notes.

Li said that the large-scale use of medical data will face four major obstacles: data is difficult to standardise, difficult to confirm, difficult to protect and difficult to price. He notes if the issues of data protection and pricing are resolved, the government and society at large would be more incentivised and have the ability to sort out the other challenges.

Meanwhile, during a panel session at the conference, HKEX Head of Markets Wilfred Yiu introduced the latest developments in biotech listings in the Hong Kong market.