Agenda
Day 1, Wednesday 15 April 2026
8.00 AM
9.00 AM
Registration Opens & Morning Refreshments
9.00 AM
9.05 AM
Welcome
Lucy Greenleaf, MC, Ignite Partners
9.05 AM
9.15 AM
Keynote Address
Atlantic Partners Asia (APA) delivers seamless cross-border payment solutions, tailored for multinationals, corporates, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. With deep expertise in complex payments, they ensure secure transactions across numerous countries. Regulated in key financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong, APA bridges Eastern and Western systems with unmatched reliability and compliance.
Hayden Briscoe, formerly Head of UBS Asset Management HK and Head of Asia-Pacific Multi-Asset Strategies, combines market insight with financial innovation, guiding investors through complex economic cycles.
Before his time at UBS, Hayden played a key role in establishing AllianceBernstein’s Asia-Pacific fixed income presence. His extensive career spans prestigious institutions such as Schroders, Colonial First State, and Bankers Trust, where he honed his expertise in equity, bonds, markets, and portfolio strategy. A regular contributor to Bloomberg, CNBC, and FinanceAsia, Hayden’s insights offer a unique perspective on Asia’s financial landscape.
9.15 AM
10.00 AM
Navigating the Great Re-Rating: Global Commodities Outlook
Following a historic 2025 marked by rallies in gold (65%) and silver (150%), the commodities landscape has shifted gears.
Global Drivers: What’s behind this surge and can it continue? Examining the impact of fiscal deficits, monetary debasement, de-dollarization, geopolitical friction, tariff-induced inflation, and resource nationalism.
The Sentiment Shift: Navigating the pivot in investor sentiment, the availability of capital within the mining sector & the surge in M&A activity.
The Hong Kong Pulse: Assessing the Hong Kong capital markets as a strategic “Resource Hub” – deal pipeline, shifting sources of capital, and the key sectors driving this.
Identifying the Next Breakout: Which overlooked resources are poised to be the next to break out?
Equity vs Physical: What’s the advantage of investing in equities versus physical commodities?
Moderator
Damian is a senior mining investment and financing executive with over 25 years of experience in mining mergers, acquisitions, divestments and financing. He is a Partner at Oryx Global Partners.
Previously, Damian was an Investment Director at EMR Capital. He was closely involved with EMR’s significant investments, including the Kestrel coking coal mine in Australia and the Martabe gold mine in Indonesia. He is currently an adviser to several Boards and Vice Chairman of the Asia Mining Club.
Prior to joining EMR Capital, Damian co-led Australian mining coverage for Deutsche Bank where he led numerous cross-border M&A and financing transactions for companies including Fortescue, Glencore, Baosteel, EMR Capital, St Barbara, Kidman Resources (acquired by Wesfarmers) and Galaxy Resources (which became Arcadium and was recently acquired by Rio Tinto).
Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Damian worked for BNP Paribas in a similar capacity and commenced his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UK. Damian has extensive strategic advisory and end-to-end M&A experience. His financing experience includes work across the capital structure and in multiple markets. He has experience with many commodities including coal, iron ore, gold, base metals,
uranium and battery materials.
Damian graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Birmingham, UK and is a Chartered Accountant.
Speakers
Louis is a metals & mining equity analyst at Gold Mountains Asset Management, where he joined in 2022 and focuses on managing a long-short portfolio. He covers the global commodities sector. Louis began his career in mining as an exploration geologist and has held various roles across the industry, bringing deep domain expertise to his investment work. He holds both postgraduate and undergraduate degrees in Geology from the University of Hong Kong.
Jimmy has over 20 years’ experience in corporate advisory and investment management in the Metals and Mining and Transition Materials sectors. He has successfully taken control of distressed investments in the gold sector, turning them around from near bankruptcy into positive cash flow generation and profitability. He is the Principal of Virtova Capital, a specialist advisory firm in the energy, metals and mining industry.
Jimmy started his career in Australia as a tax accountant with Ernst & Young, serving energy, metals and mining companies of all sizes before progressing to Corporate Finance with Ernst & Young and then KPMG. During that time, Jimmy worked on numerous assignments assisting companies in the oil and gas, gold, base metals and iron ore sectors encompassing project financing, joint venture partnerships, IPOs, corporate mergers and acquisitions, independent fairness opinions, due diligence investigations and structured investments. From there, Jimmy then moved on to work for JP Morgan where he worked on assignments advising and financing some of the largest mining companies in the world. Prior to Virtova, Jimmy was Managing Director and Sole HKSFC Type 9 License Responsible Officer (RO) of a Beijing-based family office for a prominent Chinese consumer-product entrepreneur and managed a portfolio of investments in Metals and Mining, Agribusiness and Media/Entertainment sectors. Prior to that, Jimmy worked at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for sub-sector coverage within the General Industrials Group.
Jimmy was recently Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division in the Asia Pacific region and Senior Advisor to EMR Capital, a leading Energy and Minerals private equity fund. He currently serves as Grant Samuel’s Managing Director in Hong Kong and as a Non-Executive Director of ASX-listed metallurgical coal mining company Stanmore Resources Limited (Chairman of its Remuneration and Nomination Committee and a member of its Audit and Risk Management Committee).
Lastly, Jimmy serves as a director of the Asia Mining Club, a non-profit organization with the aim of promoting the mining industry in Asia and providing a platform for club members to access many opportunities through networking, relationship building, business development, and also raising the awareness of the mining and resources sector’s increasingly large economic impact in the Asian financial and investment sector.
Samson joined the Dutch mining fund Commodity Discovery in 2021 as an analyst. He is a well-known figure in the Chinese mining circle. In August 2020, he launched his personal newsletter, ‘The Solidus Investment Newsletter’ on Pateron. Previously, he spent seven years as the Senior Metals Analyst at Refinitiv Metals Research, a role which enabled him to establish his presence in the Chinese mining industry. Before joining Refinitiv, Samson was the Chief Analyst for eight years at an asset management firm in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for managing the company’s portfolio of global mining equities and was able to outperform the benchmark during the entire period.
Samson is an active contributor on various Western & Chinese social media platforms, and a regular guest speaker at industrial events organised by Ignite Partners, China International Mining, World Platinum Investment Council, and various Chinese investment banks. He is widely followed by global equities and commodities traders on Twitter.
CEO Presentations
10.00 AM
10.10 AM
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11.00 AM
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11.30 AM
11.30 AM
11.40 AM
11.40 AM
11.50 AM
11.50 AM
12.00 PM
12.00 PM
12.10 PM
12.10 PM
12.20 PM
12.20 PM
12.30 PM
12.30 PM
1.00 PM
Hedging the Paradigm Shift – Precious Metals and Natural Resources Equities
25 years in Asset Management and Investment Banking (BNP Paribas, Macquarie) in Europe and Asia. Experience in cash and derivative businesses. Specialist in global macro strategy and cross-asset implementations. Multiple “Industry Awards” as a derivatives strategist.
20+ years in research, analysing, evaluating and advising companies in the mining industry. Extended network among the mining industry c-suite, geologists and mining and metals experts.
1.00 PM
2.00 PM
Lunch
2.00 PM
2.50 PM
Unlocking Investment in the Life Sciences Sector: What do Asia-based Investors Look For?
Key Attributes: Identifying the key attributes investors prioritize in small-cap life sciences companies. How have they evolved given current market trends?
Cross-border Investment and Licensing Trends: Explaining the implications for international biotech collaboration and deal-making.
Pathways to Liquidity: The shifting balance between IPOs, strategic partnerships, and the accelerating resurgence of M&A as an exit.
China’s Rising Role: How China’s biopharma sector is redefining competitive leadership.
Moderator
Jane is the Founder and Managing Director of IR Department, a specialist investor relations, public relations, issues management and ESG consultancy. Through the past 20 years, she has worked with hundreds of clients, listed and unlisted, from micro-caps to ASX top 50 and has a strong network of domestic and international investor and media contacts. She loves the transactional aspect of investor relations and has supported clients with capital raises, IPOs and licensing transactions, valued at more than $1b. Outside of her consultancy, she is an Investment Committee Member for BioNSW and a mentor to emerging companies through the SBE accelerator program and March Collective advisory group.
Earlier in her career, Jane led investor communications at Buchan Consulting (now WE Communications), was head of IR / PR at Geodynamics Limited, and was a founding member of IRM, where she drove electronic strategies for listed companies. Her awarded and recognised leadership and industry impact continue to shape Australia’s investor relations landscape.
Speakers
Charles is a translational biomedical engineer with a strong background in business development. His passion is in building a vibrant biotech ecosystem through integrating stakeholders across academia, finance, youth development, philanthropy, and public policy. He has deep experience in biotechnology consulting, university knowledge transfer, and in MNC pharma medical affairs.
He now heads Ryoden Medical where he oversees healthcare and biotech venture investments for his family office. He also co-founded Incando Therapeutics and Cere Ventures to bring innovative brain and healthy aging related developments to the market and leads a versatile team experienced in clinical and regulatory affairs.
Charles currently serves as Chair of Biomedical Engineering Departmental Advisory Council and Adjunct Professor in Biomedical Sciences at the City University of Hong Kong, Vice Chairman to the Hong Kong Biotechnology Organization, Director of the Asian Fund for Cancer Research Limited, committee member to the Hong Kong Professionals and Senior Executives Association, the Hong Kong Trade & Development Council ASGH steering committee, the Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Commission ITF assessment panel, the HK Tech 300 Angel Fund selection panel, and the Hong Kong Baptist University Entrepreneurship Fund vetting committee, and advisor to several investment firms.
Charles received his PhD in Tissue Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, BS in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been awarded the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Greater Bay Area Most Talented Young Entrepreneur Award with the Best Technology Innovation Distinction in 2023.
Josephine brings over 20 years of experience across global hedge funds, family offices, and asset management, with deep expertise investing in and scaling healthcare, diagnostics, and life sciences companies across Asia-Pacific. She specializes in capital strategy, strategic partnerships, commercialization planning, and cross-border market expansion, helping late-stage healthcare companies translate validated science into investable, revenue-generating businesses. Josephine is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Aionious Management, an asset allocation and investment platform serving families, corporates, and entrepreneurs globally. She previously served as CIO of a multi-billion single family office and held senior leadership roles at UBP Asset Management, Robeco Hong Kong, Yu Ming Investments, and LR Global Partners. Josephine also founded Aionious Capital, advising innovative healthcare and technology ventures on fundraising, governance, and international expansion. She serves on multiple boards and advisory communities including GPN Vaccines, World of Allocators and RAWS-tech. She is known for bridging capital, operators, and markets to accelerate growth and unlock strategic exits.
Brian is an experienced company director and healthcare entrepreneur having either founded or co-founded seven healthcare companies on the ASX. In 2021, his digital healthcare company, ResApp Health Limited was acquired by Pfizer. He is also the former Chairman of Ausbiotech (WA) and holds a Bachelor of Economics and Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia.
CEO Presentations
2.50 PM
3.00 PM
3.00 PM
3.10 PM
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7.00 PM