The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) entered into a Co-operation Agreement (Agreement) on 7 December 2016 to foster collaboration between the two regulatory authorities in promoting financial innovation.

According to the Agreement, the HKMA and the FCA will closely collaborate on a number of initiatives such as referrals of fintech firms, joint innovation projects, information exchange and experience sharing, to facilitate financial innovation in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

For Hong Kong, the Agreement is a key initiative of the Fintech Facilitation Office (FFO) of the HKMA. It presents significant opportunities for financial and fintech companies to enhance their services and extend their global footprint. The Agreement also shows the HKMA’s commitment to build a vibrant fintech ecosystem.

For the UK this represents the fifth co-operation agreement that the FCA has signed with international authorities after Australia, Singapore, South Korea, and China. The FCA has an overarching statutory objective as a regulator to make financial services markets work well, and promoting competition through innovation forms a significant part of this. The Co-operation Agreement with the HKMA will reduce the barriers for authorised firms looking to grow to scale overseas and assist non-UK innovators interested in entering the market the FCA oversees.

Mr Shu-Pui Li, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the HKMA, said, “We are delighted to sign the Agreement with FCA. Both Hong Kong and the UK are well positioned as global financial centres and premier locations for financial innovation. Many fintech firms and financial institutions in the two markets have already gained a solid local footing. Collaboration between the HKMA and the FCA will create significant synergy for the two markets by enabling fintech firms and financial institutions to extend their global reach and learn from their foreign counterparts. It will also help to enhance services delivered by financial institutions.”

Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, said: “Alongside promoting innovation in UK businesses, we also want to see the best firms from around the world coming to the UK. Both consumers and the wider UK economy benefit from this transfer of ideas and innovation. The Agreement signed today with the HKMA is a good example of this type of international co-operation and we look forward to working to promote innovation and reduce barriers to entry for firms both here in the UK and in Hong Kong.”

The Agreement was signed at the London-Hong Kong Financial Services Forum in London, an annual forum facilitating discussion on financial co-operation and development between Hong Kong and the UK.