FWD Group, a Hong Kong-based insurance arm of Pacific Century Group has bought into Bloomberg’s risk management solutions. Some of the systems that FWD have brought on include Bloomberg’s Multi-Asset Risk System (MARS), its Asset and Investment Manager (AIM), its enhanced Portfolio and Risk Analytics solution (PORT+) and its latest IFRS 9 solution. Together, this software will grant FWD more ability to analyze, model and monitor investment performance, with a transparent firm-wide view of investment risks across the region, and the workflow necessary to comply with the latest global regulatory standards. FWD Group spans Hong Kong & Macau, Thailand, Indonesia,…

In Taiwan, regulators prefer innovators compared to disruptors. Innovators can work together with existing companies and thus, within the same regulation frameworks that have already been established. Meanwhile, disruptors usually call for brand new regulations, which can be more difficult for the regulators to build from scratch while still protecting consumers effectively. This means that the kinds of startups that flourish in Taiwan tend to be ones that operate within existing parameters, but with innovations that either simplify or reduce prices for traditional processes. However, there is an interesting trend developing among the top funded fintech startups in taiwan that we…

Hong Kong is investing heavily to become Asia’s top fintech hub. Among the key policies put in place this year to help it achieve its ambitions is a HK$500 million fund to develop financial services over the next half-decade, including in fintech. In 2017, Hong Kong-based fintech companies raised US$546 million, more than doubling the previous year’s amount and eclipsing Singapore’s US$229 million. 2018 has been a great year for Hong Kong’s fintech industry with the annual Fintech Week wrapping up earlier this month a successful event that showcased some of the city’s most innovative ventures. As we head towards…

Consumers will soon have more payments option for their MTR rides beyond just Octopus cards. Fresh out of their earlier announcement to enable Alipay by 2020, MTR awarded contracts to 3 more players, namely TNG Wallet, Union Pay and WeChat Pay. The QR code based payment is expected to be made available 2021, 1 year after Alipay’s exclusive rights expires. This puts Alipay at a significant advantage over it’s bitter rival WeChat Pay with an additional 1 year time frame to launch aggressive user acquisition campaigns. The introduction of new options will likely a take a bite out of Octopus…

Xero, a cloud-based accounting software platform geared for SMEs, announced the launch of its open banking API in Hong Kong, which would link up banks, fintechs and financial institutions. Xero has 1.6 million subscribers in over 180 countries including Hong Kong, and a thriving ecosystem seamlessly integrating with 700+ apps. Neat, an SME-focused Hong Kong account provider, will be the first Hong Kong fintech to be integrating into Xero’s API and partnering up with Xero for their API. This follows Hong Kong government’s recent establishment of the Open API Framework as part of its initiative to drive financial innovation in the banking…

Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading fintech hubs, have been experiencing incredible growth in recent years, thanks to a supportive government, its large pool of investors, and lots of startup programs aimed at supporting promising ventures. As of 2017, 48 of the world’s leading 100 fintech companies were reaping rewards from the city’s technologically advanced ecosystem. In particular, six key fintech segments have witnessed tremendous growth: Artificial intelligence (AI): Local banks and financial institutions are proactively implementing AI as part of their modern financial strategy. AI promises to revolutionize financial services by increasing efficiency, reducing costs and helping clients…

After a fierce battle, AlipayHK wins the ability to provide QR code payment solutions for Hong Kong’s MTR, with the new payment system to be rolled out to 91 MTR stations by mid-2020. AlipayHK will serve as an extra option for commuters apart from the well-worn Octopus cards that have dominated public transportation so far. AlipayHK will also be supporting a dual offline solution, where even if internet is spotty or if one is offline, transactions can sitll be completed. Alipay wallet users will also be able to link their accounts to the MTR app to make payments. AlipayHK is…

Western Union a household name for cross-border remittance along with HKT Payment Limited a Stored Value Facilities (SVF) license holder have signed an agreement to enable Tap & Go customers to user their mobile wallet to send money around the world via the Western Union mobile app and website The collaboration will provide Hong Kong-ers an additional option other that the readily available money transfer transaction made available through credit cards. Tap & Go users will benefit from Western Union’s 525,000 agent locations in over 200 countries and their wide network of payout banks.

Innovation labs are traditionally associated with tech companies but there are now being embraced by companies across all industries, which are choosing hubs such as San Francisco, Singapore and Hong Kong to base themselves in a bid to pick up some of the startup spirit. By bring together participants from varied backgrounds, with varied expertise and experience, innovation labs are helping firms prepare themselves to the next wave of digitalization by fueling collaborative innovation. In recent years, Hong Kong has witnessed the launch of numerous fintech innovation labs. The following ten labs are some of the most notable ones based…

Ping An Group expects to invest $US 15 billion in technology R&D in the next decade in an attempt to stake out a lead in the financial services industry for next 10 years Each year the Group invests one percent of its revenue in the R&D of fintech and healthtech. Ping An has invested US$7 billion in R&D in the past decade. According to the press release, the group has a “finance + ecosystem” strategy, which has so far helped it gain a significant chunk of the industry, particularly in the joint insurtech industry. Besides its own exploits as a group,…

Fintech has become a global phenomenon, especially in Asia where high Internet and smartphone penetration is creating fertile ground for fintech adoption. With Singapore and Hong Kong, two internationally renowned financial hubs, emerging as regional fintech leaders, it comes with little surprise that most of Asia’s up-and-coming entrepreneurs in the field are from these two locations. To keep up with Asia’s budding entrepreneurs, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most inspiring women fintech founders who are transforming the financial landscape in the region: Tan Hooi Ling, Co-Founder Grab, (Singapore) Linkedin While her co-founder Anthony has always been the…

Sun Life announced today, a newly launched feature on the My Sun Life HK app which enable claims submissions from individual insurance clients to be approved and paid within 24 hours. The 24 hours approval will for now, be available only to hospitalisation and accident claims, which account for over 95% of all claims that Sun Life receives. This new service is made possible through the company’s Straight-Through-Proccessing System and Faster Payment System (FPS) infrastructure by the HKMA and will be made available 12th December 2018 onwards This move is perhaps in response to the myriad of insurtech players like…

When you bring up blockchain with enthusiasts nowadays, the tone of conversations usually involves them making excuses for cryptocurrency, and a plea to not let that stain your impression of the underlying blockchain technology. This is a marked shift in mindset from just one year ago, when there were excited whispers about cryptocurrency potentially replacing fiat currencies altogether. The global obsession with cryptocurrencies have cooled somewhat, but Hong Kong still serves as a hotbed of activity and seen as one of the world’s premier trading regions—particularly so once the mainland decreed cryptocurrency as illegal. Hong Kong is also the home…

Hangzhou, one of China’s top fintech hubs, is pushing for blockchain innovation. Xu Liyi, mayor of Hangzhou city, has listed blockchain development into the official government report and several initiatives have been undertaken by the government to nurture a healthy blockchain ecosystem. The Hangzhou government said in April that it would invest in a 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) blockchain fund. At the opening ceremony of the Blockchain Industrial Park, it said it would invest 30%, or 3 billion yuan, in the fund along with Tulan Investment, a venture capital company. The fund, which claims to be the world’s biggest…

Ping An Insurance delivered Hong Kong’s first blockchain-based international trade finance platform, eTradeConnect. The platform was initiated by seven founding banks in Hong Kong and facilitated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Leveraging blockchain’s distributed ledger technology, financial institutions will potentially be able to access real-time, secure and comprehensive trade information to conduct their risk assessment on loans. The hope is that similar processes will become more efficient, and potentially reduce financial costs for companies by digitalising trade documents in trade loan applications. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the official launch of eTradeConnect, initially connecting 12 joining banks…

Over the years, Taiwan has remained rather open to blockchain and cryptocurrency, at least compared to its fellow Northeast Asia countries such as China and Korea. While they were originally criticized for lacking any regulation in the Fintech markets, and struggled to embrace emerging technologies in the past, they have – especially in the recent years – assertively made their stance clear on becoming the world’s next blockchain island (much like Malta). On August 29, 2018, Taiwan Legislator and Congressman, Jason Hsu, came out and expressed his desired plan to establish the small nation as a crypto-centric one. Since then,…

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) announced new initiatives, enhanced programmes and support services aimed at strengthening and accelerating the growth of Hong Kong’s tech sector, with a particular focus on startups. These new measures are the first phase of roll-outs utilising the HK$10 billion funding provided by the HKSAR Government. Programmes to Tackle Startup Needs at Different Phases Some of the new programmes include a new seed funding initiative called the “Science and Technology Entrepreneur Programme” (STEP) to provide financial support for budding start-ups and young technopreneurs with disruptive ideas that need a bit of help turning…

From Singapore to Korea, the Republic of Korea continues to make moves at becoming a hub in the digital finance and fintech blockchain space. Thus, it is no wonder that a plethora of Fintech start-ups emerges month after month. It seems as if there is constant news about the government standing at a crossroads with advancing financial technologies into society. From start-ups like AIZEN (a Korean Fintech startup that aims at automating Big Data analysis and learns in real time) to bigger corporations like Shinhan Bank, 2018 has made it evident that Fintech is on the inevitable rise. With that…

Citi Hong Kong has launched Citi Live Chat, which enables the bank’s relationship managers to interact with their Citigold Private Client (CPC) and Citigold customers more conveniently, without needing third-party platforms like WeChat. The platform allows customers to connect with their relationship managers through text, audio or video The platform is accessible after login to Citibank online banking and Citi Mobile App platforms. The platform can also be used to conduct portfolio reviews, and is enabled by screen sharing for documents, and the ability to share files and links. This development follows Citi’s report that Hong Kong had a million…

It’s a well known fact that the cards network sector is dominated by the Visa and Mastercard duopoly. If you live outside of China, a quick glance into your wallet will likely prove that fact. Enter UnionPay, established in 2002 it is fast establishing itself as the new giant in the game. It initially gain strength thanks to its monopoly in domestic payments in China. However, it is progressively growing out of its Chinese shadows as the third largest in terms of transaction value behind Mastercard and Visa and the largest card network in the world. Recent announcement from UnionPay…