One of Asia’s largest fintech events the Hong Kong Fintech Week is returning from November 4 to 8. This year’s program will cover key themes including artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, fintech in China, Greater Bay Area collaboration, and virtual banking.

It is expected to attract over thousands of executives, entrepreneurs, investors and regulators from China, Asia and across the world to discuss some of the industry’s biggest trends and challenges.

This year’s Hong Kong week will feature over 200 speakers representing the likes of TransferWise, Kabbage, Credit Karma, Tencent, Lufax, and Ping An, as well as investors, policymakers and academics, over 400 media, 100 fintech exhibitors and 8 delegations.

And unlike previous years, it will be held at the AsiaWorld-Expo, close to the Hong Kong International Airport, to welcome a greater number of participants and accommodate a greater variety of programs, business events, exhibitors and attendees.

The new venue is strategically located close to the newly opened Zhuhai-Hong Kong-Macau highway – and the world’s longest sea bridge – which is symbolic of the fintech connection and collaboration between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, a key theme of the Hong Kong Fintech Week.

What to expect

This year’s Hong Kong Fintech Week promises to be even bigger than the previous years and efforts have been made to expand the program to allow participants to get a more broader view of the region’s vibrant fintech ecosystem, as well as greater business opportunities through more networking and matchmaking sessions.

Among this year’s novelties, the week-long event will include the Experience Stage, which will dive into the technology side of the industry, tackling topics such as AI, APIs, cloud, DLT, and more, as well as the Chatham House stage, which will allow for off-the-record talks with key CEOs and executives. The event will also feature the Greater Bay Area Fintech Summit, it will cover emerging opportunities across the region.

The Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019 will put a particular focus on virtual banking, a major topic this year as Hong Kong regulators have begun issuing their first virtual banking licenses. So far, eight Hong Kong companies have received regulatory approval and the Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019 will give participants the opportunity to hear from them and learn more about what these companies will offer.

Another major focus this year will be online insurance, a fast-growing area within the region’s fintech sector, addition to emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning, big data, and blockchain, which are offering businesses both tremendous opportunities and challenges.

The first two days of the Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019, November 4 and 5, 2019, will be dedicated to innovation lab visits, company visits, association meetups, seminars, and education events. The Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2019, Cyberport’s annual premier venture forum, will be running from November 5 to 6, 2019, and the half-day HKSTP InnoExpress Program, will take place on November 5, and will cover the fintech landscape in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area (GBA).

The main conference will take place on November 6 and 7, 2019, in addition to the Fintech Expo, Startup Zone, as well as Fast Track, the program designed to support companies in establishing and growing their business in Asia using Hong Kong as a launchpad.

The Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019 will also see the FintechHK Global Competition announcing and rewarding this year’s winners with over US$500,000 in investment commitment from the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund and other investors, as well as US$20,000 in cash prize.

And on November 8, the final day of the Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019, the event will move to Shenzhen. Shenzhen Day aims to provide participants with a more in-depth look into China and the GBA’s fintech landscape. It will offer attendees the opportunity to visit and meet with executives of some of the most innovative fintech companies that are headquartered in so-called China’s Silicon Valley, including Tencent, WeBank, ZhongAn Insurance and WeLab.

Featured image: Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019, @hongkongfintech, Twitter.