Markets are supposedly rational. The efficient market hypothesis states that all participants act rationally and that every event and risk is already priced into an asset’s value. Actually participating in financial markets quickly bursts that theory however, as every day we see assets lose multiple percentage points in minutes, and ungrounded bull runs climb with no fundamentals to back them up. TL;DR Market anomalies are driven by emotional feedback loops (FOMO and panic selling), temporarily detaching price from fundamentals.  The Fear and Greed Index mathematically quantifies this sentiment using objective data like the VIX and volume momentum.  Successful trading uses…

TransUnion has reported mixed trends in the Hong Kong consumer credit market in Q1 2026, with steady growth in credit cards and personal loans offsetting sharp contractions in revolving lines. The credit bureau’s latest Hong Kong Industry Insights Report indicates that consumer repayment behaviour remained stable, and lenders have adopted more disciplined underwriting for higher-risk unsecured products. This shift occurs against a backdrop of 5.9% GDP growth in the first quarter, the strongest performance in nearly five years. Inflation remained steady at 1.7%. Credit card momentum and Gen Z growth Hong Kong’s credit card market maintained its spending momentum despite…

HSBC has restored its digital banking services in Hong Kong after an outage on Monday (15 June) morning left customers unable to access their accounts. The bank confirmed the issue in a statement to Reuters, saying all systems had returned to normal before 2pm local time. Customers experienced difficulties logging into the mobile app and accessing several features earlier in the day. HSBC issued an apology for the disruption but did not disclose the cause of the outage. It declined to disclose the number of users affected. The incident follows a similar disruption to the bank’s Hong Kong digital services…

Manulife Hong Kong has joined the Insurance Authority’s (IA) AI Cohort Programme as a Core Participating Insurer, a move aimed at advancing the use of AI within the city’s insurtech sector. The industry-wide programme brings together insurers and technology partners to promote the responsible adoption of AI. Through this initiative, Manulife Hong Kong will help establish AI Centres of Excellence, support talent development, and share insights with peers and regulators. “AI is rapidly transforming the insurance landscape, enabling insurers to reimagine how we serve customers while driving greater efficiency and resilience,” said Patrick Graham, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and…

Citi Hong Kong has launched an “eVouchers” feature within the Citi Mobile App to deliver targeted rewards directly to its digital users. The initiative integrates value-added services into the bank’s primary digital channel, aiming to meet growing consumer demand for digital spending benefits. The product launch comes amid strong digital adoption across the bank’s user base. More than 90% of active cardholders now interact through digital channels, while over 96% of wealth management transactions are conducted digitally. Internal cardholder spending data reflects changing consumer habits, with Citi recording a 34% year-on-year increase in travel spending and a 16% rise in…

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and Bank Indonesia have launched a bilateral cross-border QR code payment linkage to facilitate retail transactions between the two nations. Announced during the Second Governors’ Meeting of the Joint Work Program in Shanghai on June 11, the initiative expands coverage across major merchant networks. It enables two-way digital transactions. The rollout pushes China UnionPay’s total network beyond 46 million QR merchants outside the Chinese mainland. The payment linkage operates under a government-to-government framework guided by both central banks. UnionPay announced the pilot launch of this partnership in September 2025. Key industry participants involved in…

Ant Group is testing an AI agent within its Alipay application to automate financial and lifestyle tasks, according to Bloomberg. The assistant is reportedly named Ah Bao in Chinese. It allows users to execute commands via text or voice to manage complex functions, including buying mutual funds with user authorisation. The tool will also process routine digital requests such as ordering food, booking transport, and arranging coffee deliveries. This development escalates the competition with Tencent in the digital market. The rival technology firm is currently testing a prototype AI agent within its WeChat platform. Both Alipay and WeChat serve over…

RedotPay has completed its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration in Mexico, marking a key milestone in its Latin American expansion. The registration enables RedotPay to conduct virtual asset operations under Mexico’s Anti-Money Laundering framework. The company has also secured the necessary approvals to operate as a credit card issuer within the country’s regulatory system. Following the approvals, RedotPay is collaborating with international partners to prepare for the launch of its third credit card programme in Mexico. The company aims to provide a compliant suite of stablecoin payment solutions that connect digital assets with daily consumer spending. To support its…

EX.IO, a licensed virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong, has formed a strategic partnership with global investment manager Franklin Templeton to distribute its tokenised money market fund to local professional investors. The collaboration makes EX.IO a platform in Hong Kong to distribute the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund AB USD Class Shares, also known as grBENJI. The initiative aims to provide access to regulated on-chain financial instruments for institutional and professional clients within the market. Franklin Templeton launched its first blockchain-registered mutual fund in 2021 to process transactions and record share ownership. As of 31 May 2026, the…

The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) has priced its inaugural digital bond issuance, raising approximately HK$12 billion equivalent under its US$30 billion Medium Term Note Programme. The multi-tranche transaction represents the largest digital bond issuance globally to date. It also makes HKMC the first public sector entity in Hong Kong to issue digital bonds. The five-year Hong Kong dollar (HKD) tranche sets a new benchmark. It is the longest tenor ever for an HKD-denominated digital bond. The issuance comprises HK$6 billion two-year, HK$2.5 billion five-year, and CNH3 billion three-year tranches. Book-built and priced in Hong Kong, the offering attracted…

Three of Japan’s largest financial groups, MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho, plan to jointly issue a stablecoin by March 2027, according to Fintech Futures. The banks have signed a MoU to establish a council that will study the design of issuance infrastructure, governance frameworks, and operational systems for the proposed digital asset. The initiative also includes examining potential use cases such as cross-border payments and broader settlement applications. While the project remains in the exploratory stage, stakeholders are targeting the possibility of enabling pilot or live transactions within the broader implementation timeline under discussion. The initiative follows growing regulatory support in…

TransUnion is offering a one-time free credit report to eligible individuals in Hong Kong who have lost their Hong Kong Identity Cards (HKID). The initiative aims to provide immediate visibility into credit profiles during the high-risk window following identity loss, helping citizens mitigate potential financial damage from identity theft. According to the TransUnion H1 2026 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report, identity theft is a major threat in the city, cited as the primary cause of financial loss by 34% of digital fraud victims last year. Hong Kong also recorded the highest median digital fraud loss globally, standing at…

Generative AI is making fraud more convincing and easier to scale. Reports of Gen AI-enabled scams rose 456% between May 2024 and April 2025, while deepfake activity is also rising sharply in APAC. Banks and fintechs across APAC are under growing pressure to tighten fraud controls and strengthen identity checks. This webinar brings together fraud and risk leaders to discuss how financial institutions are responding, including the use of stronger biometric checks and advanced liveness detection. The growing impact of deepfakes in Singapore and across APAC Exploring advanced technologies as fraud prevention grows more complex Striking the right balance between…

CIMB has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with China CITIC Bank to improve financial connectivity between China and the ASEAN region. The agreement focuses heavily on Malaysia and Indonesia, aiming to support bilateral trade, cross-border financing, and regional investment flows. The two banks will provide corporate clients with a suite of banking products covering trade transactions, payments, and expansion financing. The collaboration will draw on China CITIC Bank’s domestic network and CIMB’s operations across Southeast Asia. A core focus of the partnership is foreign currency and Chinese Yuan Renminbi (RMB) payment and clearing. This includes potential access to China’s…

AI is getting better at helping us shop. The next step is much bigger: making payments on our behalf. That sounds convenient, but it also raises some important questions. Who is really in control? What happens when an AI agent makes a mistake? And how can banks, merchants, and regulators trust transactions that are no longer initiated directly by humans? In this episode, Lionel Grosclaude, CEO of Fime, joins Fintech News Network to discuss the rise of agentic commerce and why trust may become the most important layer in AI-driven payments. The conversation explores Fime’s recently launched FACT (Framework for…

Animoca Brands and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) are co-hosting a demo day for local agentic AI developers on 7 July 2026. The event, called Build East, will feature eight Hong Kong-based teams pitching their projects to investors and global delegates. Successful teams can access an aggregate capital pool of up to US$10 million through the Minds Investment Programme, subject to further evaluation. Accepted projects will receive investment alongside ecosystem introductions to Animoca Brands’ network of over 600 companies, developer relations support, and Cognition Credits. Funding the agentic era The initiative targets builders integrating Minds by…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued guidelines for banks to manage the onboarding and ongoing monitoring of mainland Chinese investment accounts. The move, as reported by Bloomberg, aims to ensure a compliant and orderly application process. It occurs alongside broader enforcement actions in the cross-border brokerage sector. The city’s de facto central bank issued a five-page circular last month detailing the new administrative steps. HKMA requires banks to close any investment accounts opened using questionable or forged documents and to obtain written declarations from mainland investors. According to an HKMA statement on Saturday (6 June), the account application…

UOB has announced key leadership changes across its mainland China and Hong Kong operations to accelerate cross-border growth between China and ASEAN. Adaline Zheng, the current CEO of the UOB Hong Kong branch, will be appointed as the new CEO of UOB China. She replaces Peter Foo, who is retiring after 15 years with the bank. George Tung, the current Country Manager in South Korea, will succeed Zheng as the CEO of the UOB Hong Kong branch. Both appointments will take effect on 1 July 2026. “China is a key driver of trade, investment and cross-border flows with ASEAN,” said…

Hong Kong is allocating HK$300 million this year to help SMEs adopt AI and cybersecurity solutions, according to a report by Xinhua. Financial Secretary Paul Chan outlined the funding as part of an enhancement to the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme. The initiative targets businesses looking to use readily available AI tools to forecast consumer trends, optimise marketing, and automate daily operations. Writing on his blog, Chan detailed broader efforts to attract international tech talent and build the city into a base for research and entrepreneurship. He highlighted the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster, which is currently under construction. The…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has established a Tokenised Bond Expert Group to drive further adoption and scalability of tokenised bonds across the local fixed income market. This group brings together market participants, legal professionals, and technology providers to explore policies and structural innovations. The newly formed panel comprises representatives from industry associations, financial institutions, legal advisory firms, and financial infrastructure providers. The group held its first series of discussions in May to examine how Hong Kong’s existing legal and regulatory frameworks apply to tokenisation. These initial discussions provided reference for the authority’s ongoing work to identify potential legal…