Invest Hong Kong announced that Hong Kong’s regulators, along with a host of private sector partners, entrepreneurs and industry leaders, will participate in the second annual Hong Kong FinTech Week, to be held from October 23 to 27 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.

The Week will focus on the driving forces that shape Hong Kong as a global financial technology (FinTech) hub.

Key stakeholders of the Week include the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Insurance Authority and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, plus a string of organisations including Dianrong and Citibank, along with partners Finnovasia, NexChange, the FinTech Association of Hong Kong and more.

“The FinTech developments we’ve seen in Hong Kong since our inaugural FinTech Week in November 2016 are phenomenal. They reflect the dynamic nature of the city and our strategic advantage of being right at the doorstep of China’s vibrant FinTech scene,”

the Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Mr. Stephen Phillips, said.

“And the beauty of FinTech in Hong Kong is that it’s an organic ecosystem largely driven by the private sector. There are about 130 FinTech start-ups in Hong Kong, we have four FinTech accelerators and the calendar is filled with more than 200 FinTech-related events here.”

Key themes this year include Hong Kong’s core strengths as a hub for raising funds, its active application of blockchain and artificial intelligence, the vibrant incubator and accelerator programmes, and the close connection with Mainland China under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Regulatory technology (RegTech), insurance technology and wealth management technology will also be featured strongly, along with cyber security.

Star speakers of the Fintech Week include:

There will be abundant networking opportunities as the Week will bring together FinTech developers from Hong Kong, Mainland China and the rest of the world looking to grow their business here. Regulators, financial institutions and service providers will host “office hours” (one-on-one sessions) to guide and mentor entrepreneurs. Training workshops will offer tips on how to succeed in the FinTech business, and accelerators will hold competitions for start-ups.

The Executive Director of the HKMA, Mr Li Shu-pui, said,

“The theme of this year’s HKMA FinTech Day is FinTech collaboration. Collaborations, both at domestic and cross-border levels, are the key to a sustainable FinTech ecosystem. The HKMA will unveil its domestic collaboration with the industry on its release of the second distributed ledger technology white paper and cross-border collaboration on trade-finance cooperation, and make known other collaborative initiatives on the FinTech Day. It is a must-go event for FinTech practitioners who want to keep abreast of the latest FinTech developments.”

Commenting on the Week, the Executive Director of Intermediaries Division of the SFC, Ms Julia Leung, said,

“Financial innovation is changing the way in which securities products and services are being delivered to investors. The SFC is very pleased to take part once again in Hong Kong FinTech Week to engage with a broad range of industry participants and other stakeholders to discuss the appropriate regulatory approach to financial innovation.”

The CEO of the Insurance Authority, Mr John Leung, added,

“The upcoming FinTech Week serves as an excellent platform to share and engage with market participants regarding new FinTech initiatives.”

The week starting October 30 will be the FinTech Education Week, a week that focuses on Fintech in education and Hong Kong’s burgeoning Fintech talent pool. Activities will include a hackathon, a job fair, a Shenzhen visit, and educational tours among high schools and universities.

The demo-based FinovateAsia 2017 event will take place on November 7 and 8, in which each FinTech company will have just seven minutes to demonstrate their latest solutions to an audience of investors, entrepreneurs, service providers and other stakeholders.

The CEO and founder of NexChange, Mr Juwan Lee, said,

“Hong Kong has come to a crossroad where the baseline FinTech innovation infrastructure and awareness is here. Now, entrepreneurs and financial institutions have to take it to the next level and create products that consumers need.”

The CEO and founder of Finnovasia, Mr Anthony Sar, said,

“Artificial intelligency (AI) will impact financial services significantly within the next three to five years. China has already laid out a development plan to become the world leader in AI by 2030. We are inviting over 50 experts from around the world to bring insights on practical applications of AI and machine learning in different areas of financial services, including fraud prevention, credit scoring, conversational banking and real-time insurance products.”

Member of the temporary board of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong and the PricewaterhouseCoopers FinTech and RegTech Leader for China and Hong Kong Mr Henri Arslanian, said,

“The mission of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong includes promoting FinTech collaboration and education and the Hong Kong FinTech Week is a perfect example of such an initiative. The FinTech community is looking forward to what should be the most exciting week of the year in Hong Kong for anyone interested in the FinTech space.”

To follow the latest programmes and speakers of the FinTech Week, please visit fintechweek.hk, install the FinTech Week app for iPhone and Android or follow on Twitter (@HongKongFinTech / #HKFintechWeek).