The city-state Hong Kong has long been a staple in the Asia Pacific market. Home to a number of financial giants, a thriving commercial real estate economy, and other corporations, the region, which is already densely packed, is looking to expand outward into other areas.  With investments pouring in from China, Hong Kong is still the hottest ticket in town. For those looking for office space, however, Hong Kong’s high rents – some of the highest internationally – are very unattractive to business interests, especially if you are on a tight budget. Worse yet, if you are currently looking for…

After the first full year of operation, blockchain protocol QTUM has plenty to celebrate, both for its future and its already illustrious past. In its short time on the market QTUM has achieved several transformative successes and is aiming for much grander things with new initiatives and a new roadmap for 2019 and beyond. Among the most significant milestones during QTUM’s year one was the launch of its main net and essential advances in the research and community development front. This includes funding several key areas of study at academic institutions such as The University of California-Berkley in the United States,…

Colliers released its latest research report Top Locations in Asia’s Technology sector. The report, based on a comprehensive study of 16 cities in developed and emerging markets across Asia, examines nearly 50 criteria across a spectrum of socio-economic, property and human factors to determine the viability of these cities as tech hubs as a workability index for the tech sector. Andrew Haskins, Colliers’ Asia Head of Research, commented: “Launched this year to support the rapidly growing tech sector in Asia, this new study builds on Colliers’ earlier “Tech Trends in Asia” research by recommending the best urban locations for technology firms. Bangalore,…

NEXT Future Transportation, the world’s only modular electric vehicle solutions provider, announced a groundbreaking automated logistics solution for Smart and Connected Cities: NEXT is proud to announce the introduction of its fully automated multiservice ‘online-to-offline’ (O2O) platform, including a modular vehicle solution and the supporting operating system required to bring an ecosystem of logistics services to market at scale. “To date, NEXT has entirely focused on creating innovative solutions for the municipal mass transportation market. Today NEXT enters the global USD $2.3 trillion e-commerce market, which is driving a rapid transformation of the traditional retail supply chain,” said Emmanuele Spera,…

Block.one, publisher of the EOSIO blockchain software protocol and seller of the EOS Token, a top-five cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of US$4.5 billion, announced today that former Credit Suisse Managing Director and Head of Corporate Communications, Asia-Pacific Sheel Kohli will join the company as Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer in the coming weeks. Based in Hong Kong, Kohli will serve as a member of the company’s Executive Committee and report to Block.one Group President Rob Jesudason. In his role, he will oversee the company’s global communications and marketing activities. “I’m delighted we could attract an executive of Sheel’s capability and depth of experience…

OneDegree (also known as Bola) a Hong Kong-based insurance technology start-up under Cyberport Incubation Programme, announced the full subscription and execution of its Series A funding, with investors committing HK$100 million, plus an additional HK$100 million for future financial support at the company’s option, subject to regulatory approval. This sum represents the largest ever fundraising round for a pre-revenue Insurtech start-up in Hong Kong. The amount raised in the Series A funding will be used to further advance OneDegree’s technology development, expand product portfolio, support customer acquisition, and serve as the risk capital for its pending insurance operation. The company is…

The HK Government promulgated the first Talent List of Hong Kong. Aiming to attract quality people from around the world in a more effective and focused manner to support Hong Kong’s development as a high value-added and diversified economy, the Talent List, which contains 11 professions, has been drawn up after extensive consultation with the stakeholders. The Talent List highlights specific professions needed most for Hong Kong’s economic development. In order to attract relevant world talents to Hong Kong, immigration facilitation is provided to eligible persons under the Talent List through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) within its existing…

Tyro, Australia’s business-only bank announced it had entered an agreement with the world’s largest mobile and online payment platform, Alipay, to become the first Australian bank to offer a seamless, all-in-one EFTPOS solution with Alipay for Tyro’s merchants and improve Australian businesses’ access to the Chinese visitor market. Tyro is currently working with several merchants to determine appropriate pilot sites for launch by the end of 2018. Tyro will offer Alipay to its other eligible 20,000+ businesses from second quarter 2019. The Alipay integration continues Tyro’s strategy of enabling its merchants to accept all payment types, letting their customers choose…

Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (“HKIRC”) announced the results of the “Mobile Payment: Digital Transformation from Customers to Merchants” survey, exploring the market prospects of electronic mobile payments in Hong Kong. The survey measured public perceptions of the development of the mobile payment market in Hong Kong, as well as user behaviours and experiences. HKIRC commissioned the Internet Society Hong Kong to conduct the online survey in late July, which successfully collected 1,200 responses from local residents. Most of the respondents ranged in age from 18 to 65 and worked in a variety of industry sectors. The survey revealed that…

FinovateAsia is returning to Hong Kong as the opening act of Fintech Week on October 29 and 30. The 2018 event will feature all the things that make Finovate events so unique. The combination of short-form demos of the latest fintech innovations, expert analysis and insights from leading fintech influencers, and high-impact networking time will give attendees a chance to start conversations that yield results. While the event will focus on fintech from and for Hong Kong, China, and the surrounding region, Finovate’s global perspective adds an additional layer of insight. Attendees from all over the world will be at…

AI is not new, and most agree it will shape the insurance industry well into the future – but how can you maximise the value from it today? In the latest InsurTech Rising Bytes podcast series this expert panel explore where AI will have the biggest impact in the value chain immediately and what the near-term barriers are. Moderated by Steve Pretre, Venture Partner at World Innovation Lab, with Jeremy Smith, COO at Risk Genius, Adrian Rands, Founder and Chairman at Quantemplate, Jerry Gupta, SVP at Swiss RE and Alex Baldenko, Lead Data Scientist at Mass Mutual. The panel got started with the contentious question of…

Alipay operated by Ant Financial Services Group, announced that it has partnered with Global Tax Free (“GTF”), a tax refund agency, to launch the world’s first paperless mobile tax refund function in South Korea. Alipay has consistently been at the forefront of innovation that supports mobile tax refund solutions globally. In early 2017, Alipay initiated a real-time tax refund service in Europe which enabled users to instantly receive tax rebates in their Alipay accounts after scanning their Alipay QR code at airport tax counters. The newly introduced tax refund service in South Korea further simplifies the process by enabling Chinese…

ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance  the first internet-based insurer in China, announced that its subsidiary ZhongAn International and SoftBank Vision Fund have entered into a Shareholder Agreement to boost ZhongAn’s technology solutions businesses outside China. The partnership will help ZhongAn expand its Insuretech, Fintech and other technology solutions businesses in overseas markets with an initial focus on Asia. As part of this agreement, ZhongAn International will establish a new operating entity to partner with SoftBank in exploring international opportunities; SoftBank Vision Fund will participate as a strategic investor. This investment is subject to satisfaction of certain closing conditions including obtaining necessary…

AGDelta is an online ecosystem that aims to facilitate the flow of information between financial products to buyers through big data and automation. Now, they welcome David Roy into their Hong Kong office as Managing Director for Product Management. David will be based in AGDelta’s Centre of Excellence in Hong Kong, where he will further develop AGDelta’s Digital Wealth Platform. Some of the areas he has worked in include trading, compliance, data management and project delivery. David comes to AGDelta from JPMorgan Chase, where he delved into both private banking and asset management technology in regions like Asia, Europe, and USA. “With over…

Sometime around the tail-end of 2010 the banks started realising that something called a FinTech could be a threat to their business. This is a time when some senior executives in the bigger banks were asking the digital leaders if it would be possible to slow down internet adoption by their customers (true story). Author: Alessandro Hatami* The banks’ natural reaction was initially of disbelief and denial. As the likes of Transferwise, Zopa, SoFi and Fidor started gaining momentum, this was followed by fear with boards buzzing with stories about a Blockbuster moment. Bank ‘Innovation teams’ were hurriedly set up to…

A new blockchain research center will be formed to develop a series of entreprise level blockchain applications. According to the parties involved, these solutions will be developed to address the challenges and needs that corporations are facing in China today. The center is formed as a result of a collaboration between China’s academia and industry, namely China Internet Nationwide Financial Services Inc and Tsinghua University. The new research center will pursue new R&D projects focused on developing new technologies that will safeguard the long-term viability of the blockchain ecosystem. Additionally, it also aims to create common architectural systems able to…

In response to customer needs across insurance products, AXA Hong Kong has announced that it will invest approximately HK$200M in FinTech development this year, tripling its 2017 commitment. The new AXA Design & Experience Centre in One Island East in Quarry Bay, developed in collaboration with Accenture. The opening of the Centre was officiated by AXA Group CEO Thomas Buberl, AXA Asia CEO Gordon Watson and AXA Hong Kong CEO Etienne Bouas-Laurent, together with members of the AXA Hong Kong Executive Committee. “AXA Hong Kong is rapidly transforming to become a tech-led company. An important milestone of this strategy is the launch of the AXA Design & Experience Centre, which…

A deep focus on enhancing the customer experience has taken root in many emerging markets – most notably Asia Pacific, which is well ahead of its more developed market counterparts in Europe and North America in terms of adoption of customer experience tools. Specifically, predictive analytics, sensors in products, and personalized experience have become the most widely used across both B2C and B2B markets. These are the key findings from Bain & Company’s first comprehensive survey and analysis of customer experience tools and trends. Asia Pacific Leads the Way, Unencumbered by Legacy Systems Bain & Company surveyed executives at 700 companies…

Eight fintech companies have been selected for the fifth annual FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific, a 12-week mentorship program created by Accenture in Hong Kong. The 2018 program received a record number of applications, from more than 160 companies, and comes at a time when investments into the sector are soaring.  According to an Accenture analysis of data from CB Insights, global investment in fintech ventures reached another all-time high in 2017, of US$27 billion, with continued growth in 2018. Launched in Hong Kong in June 2014, the FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific has received nearly 600 applications since its inception, with 33 companies participating to…

Citi Hong Kong announced the addition of three new API (Application Programming Interface) partners as the bank continues its effort to promote the benefits of API usage and cross-industry collaboration with the aim of bringing banking and credit card services to more customer digital touchpoints. Joining the Citi API ecosystem are household brands EGL Tours, Fortress, and Watsons, all of which will be integrating the Citi Pay with Points API with their e-commerce platforms, enabling Citi cardholders to offset online purchases using their reward points instantly after checkout. This follows the successful introduction of the Citi Pay with Points service…