The annual New Fortune Magazine conference returned to Guangzhou this week with a sense of scale and importance that reflects just how fast China’s capital markets are evolving. Known as one of the country’s most respected financial media outlets, New Fortune gathered more than 400 leaders from regulatory bodies, listed companies, and top investment institutions for its 2025 Annual Meeting on Public Company Sustainability and Best Corporate Secretary Awards.
This year’s theme — “Leading by Technology, Facing the World” — set the tone for a two-day dialogue that blended corporate governance, sustainable growth, and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.
Waton Financial’s Tony Zhou Takes the Stage at New Fortune Annual Meeting
Among the event’s featured speakers was Kai (Tony) Zhou, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Waton Financial Limited (NASDAQ: WTF), who was invited to present on behalf of the company. Zhou took the stage to introduce InfoMan, Waton’s newly launched AI Agent for Investor Relations, marking one of the most forward-looking presentations of the day.
Speaking before an audience that included executives from some of China’s most recognized listed companies, Zhou described how InfoMan fits into Waton’s broader AI Enterprise Optimization (AIEO) framework — a strategy designed to help businesses automate communication, secure sensitive data, and interact more effectively with investors and regulators in real time.
“The way information moves between companies and investors is changing,” Zhou said. “In an age of AI search and real-time engagement, enterprises need intelligent representatives capable of communicating across languages and time zones. That’s what InfoMan was built for.”
InfoMan’s design allows it to act as a tokenized digital agent — a secure, verifiable counterpart that speaks for the enterprise. The platform combines natural-language processing, investor analytics, and compliance-grade encryption, enabling listed companies to manage and share updates with unprecedented efficiency.
Watch Tony Zhou’s Recent Interview with Global Market Bulletin TV
From Concept to Commercial Reality
The initiative isn’t theoretical. As Zhou explained, Waton Financial has already delivered the first commercial deployment of the InfoMan framework. Known as DeMarc, this implementation was successfully rolled out for MOG Digitech Holdings Limited (1942.HK) — a Hong Kong–listed fintech company — earlier this year.
DeMarc serves as an intelligent, always-available interface for investors, automating responses to shareholder inquiries and providing verified company insights through AI-driven data integration. For a company like MOG, which operates in the fast-moving world of fintech, that kind of capability fundamentally redefines how corporate information is distributed and understood.
“DeMarc represents a milestone in how a listed company can interact with its investors,” Zhou noted. “It brings transparency, accessibility, and speed — values that every public company strives for, but few have been able to achieve through technology.”
A Gathering of Influence and Innovation
The New Fortune Annual Meeting has long been considered a benchmark for China’s listed companies. Often referred to as the “Oscars of Corporate Governance,” the event celebrates excellence in investor relations, board communication, and sustainable enterprise leadership.
This year’s conference drew senior officials from the People’s Daily, the Securities Times, and Guangzhou’s Financial Affairs Office, alongside leading economists and fund managers. Discussions throughout the day centered on how technology, policy, and global connectivity are reshaping China’s capital markets — with artificial intelligence emerging as the dominant theme.
The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, where the event was hosted, remains one of the most dynamic regions driving China’s financial modernization. Nansha, in particular, has positioned itself as a technology-driven innovation hub and a bridge linking Mainland China with international markets.
“Promoting Chinese modernization requires listed companies that lead in governance transparency, innovation, and sustainability,” said Tang Yong, Chairman of New Fortune Magazine. “Technology is not just a tool — it’s the foundation of competitiveness.”
Technology and Trust: The New Currency of Capital Markets
Within that broader conversation, Zhou’s introduction of InfoMan felt like a glimpse into what’s next for investor relations and market communication. As regulatory frameworks mature and AI tools grow more sophisticated, companies are expected to adopt systems that combine machine efficiency with human oversight — the very balance Waton’s AIEO initiative is built upon.
Waton Financial’s model, which blends licensed financial services with AI-powered enterprise software, stands out as an example of how Hong Kong–based fintech firms are responding to global demand for smarter, safer, and more transparent capital-market engagement.
By integrating AI agents into financial communication workflows, Waton aims to help public companies maintain consistent, accurate messaging — while also meeting the growing expectations of both institutional and retail investors.
The Broader Impact
Beyond the technology itself, Zhou’s participation at New Fortune symbolized a shift in how emerging fintech companies from Hong Kong are being perceived within China’s policy and innovation circles. Waton’s recognition at an event of this scale reflects its growing influence in bridging traditional financial systems with the next wave of AI-native solutions.
The meeting concluded with the Best Corporate Secretary and Best Investor Relations Awards, honoring over 300 professionals and teams for their contributions to China’s capital-market governance. The ceremony also introduced the Hong Kong Stock Star Program, designed to elevate the visibility and research coverage of high-quality Hong Kong–listed companies — another initiative aligned with Waton’s mission to strengthen cross-border financial connectivity.
Looking Ahead
As global investors continue to navigate a rapidly digitizing market, initiatives like InfoMan and AIEO highlight how technology and transparency can coexist to create new standards of engagement.
For Waton Financial, the moment in Guangzhou wasn’t just about introducing a new product — it was about demonstrating that the next era of finance will be built on trust, intelligence, and human-AI collaboration.
About Waton Financial Limited (NASDAQ: WTF)
Waton Financial is a Hong Kong–based financial technology company providing regulated brokerage, asset management, and AI-driven enterprise solutions under multiple SFC licenses (Type 1, 4, 5, and 9). Its proprietary technologies — DePearl™, DeMarc, and InfoMan™ — form part of its AI Enterprise Optimization (AIEO) strategy, designed to enhance automation, transparency, and engagement across global capital markets.
