Located in a special economic zone, Shenzhen is known as the “Silicon Valley of China.” The city ranks first in China in terms of the volume of patent fillings and is also the heart of the Internet of Things manufacturing, according to Deloitte. With full support from the public sector, a large unbanked population, and the lack of financial infrastructure, Shenzhen’s fintech sector has experienced significant growth and the city is now being recognized as one of China’s leading hubs for financial innovation. In light of Shenzhen’s rising fintech sector, we look today at some of the top fintech startups…

Hong Kong offers a fertile ground for fintech startups, thanks to the city’s world-class business environment, unmatched financial and operational support, and excellent technical infrastructures to support innovation and business on a global scale. Notably, Hong Kong’s proximity to Mainland China, the world’s current fintech leader, makes it an ideal place for startups looking for a gateway in and out of China. Already, several foreign ventures have chosen Hong Kong to set up a presence in Asia. Today, we look at some of the most noteworthy fintech ventures in Hong Kong you should be keeping an eye on. Amareos Amareos…

The FinTech Association of Hong Kong was officially launched last night to champion an open, inclusive and diverse FinTech community in Hong Kong. The Association is an independent, not-for-profit, member-driven association that draws its members from across the FinTech and wider financial industry. Hong Kong has a vibrant and growing FinTech community. The Association will help power the further development of Hong Kong as a leading FinTech centre with three main goals: ● Advocate – create the unified voice for the Hong Kong FinTech ecosystem ● Collaborate – bring together the diverse parts of the community ● Educate – learn…

With over a hundred fintech ventures and more than 35 investors and accelerator programs, Hong Kong’s fintech ecosystem is growing at a fast pace. Hong Kong is looking to capitalize on financial technology to keep its leading position as one of the world’s top financial hubs in the world. But unlike other major fintech hubs such as London, New York and Singapore that have positioned themselves as true disruptors, Hong Kong has instead opted for a more collaborative approach. This trend is largely due to the fact that Hong Kong has been dominated to a greater extent than other financial…

“Entrepreneurs in their 20s prioritise impact on community more than the older generation.” “Millennial entrepreneurs in HK prioritise financial considerations and work longer hours than those in the U.S. and Europe.” “Self-starters in HK are more ambitious compared with those with family business background.” Nearly a quarter (23%) of millennial entrepreneurs worldwide say having a positive impact on the community is an important goal, compared with one in ten (13%) entrepreneurs aged 50 or above. The distinction between generations is most marked in the U.S. (29% vs 17%) while the difference is eight percentage points in Asia-Pacific (21% vs 13%),…

China has become the undeniable center of global fintech innovation and adoption, thanks to developments across multiple hubs such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing and Shenzhen. With a large pool of highly skilled work force and the presence of educational powerhouses, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have emerged as hubs for financial innovation. These locations are continuously investing to nurture a conducive environment for fintech firms in China. For instance, the Shenzhen province has spent more than US$600 million in 2016 to attract global professionals and academics, according to EY. Today, they host headquarters of a number of foreign and local multinationals…

A new IBM study released on 18 May revealed that a third (33 percent) of almost 3,000 C-suite executive surveyed are using or considering blockchain in their business. According to the study, eight in 10 of those exploring blockchain are investing either in response to financial shifts in their industry or for the opportunity to develop entirely new business models. Titled “Forward Together”, the largest study done to date among C-suite executives seeks to gain their perspective on blockchain. It was based on findings from interviews with C-Suite executives across industries on how they intend to operate, generate revenue, and…

For people who are interested in Fintech and looking for a job in this one of the top 3 fastest growing industries, we’re now listing some open Fintech jobs in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Fintech Jobs in Hong Kong YBEX is the ultimate marketplace for foreign exchange (“FX”) services. We help individuals and businesses compare and lock-in exchange rates with the most suitable money service providers for their remittance, cross border payment and money exchange needs. Front-end Developer  – Full Time · $18K – $24K · No Equity Engagement and Growth Specialist/Manager – Full Time · $30K – $40K · No Equity…

There are currently 200 private companies around the world valued at US$1 billion and over – also called unicorns. These companies have a cumulative valuation of US$686 billion, according to CB Insights. Out of these 200 private companies, 45 are from China and cover all sorts of areas and industries, ranging from fintech and insurtech, to adtech, healthtech and e-commerce. Some have received extensive coverage and have built internationally renowned brands (e.g. Ant Financial, Xiaomi and Zhong An Insurance), while others have remained somewhat unnoticed on the international scene (e.g. UrWork, NetEase Cloud Music and Ofo). Chinese unicorns Ant…

FinFabrik, a provider of specialised software-as-a-service for financial institutions, announced today that Mark Brady joined the company as its Chief Investment Officer to support the strong growth trajectory across the region, particularly with the asset management client segment. Mr. Brady was previously Chief Operating Officer for iShares Japan, based in both Hong Kong and Tokyo. Prior to this role, he was Head of Capital Markets, Asia Pacific, for BlackRock iShares. With over 15 years’ experience in the industry, Mr. Brady will assume responsibility for building partnerships with both buy and sell side institutions across capital markets in Asia Pacific. He…

KPMG’s 2017 study on global technology innovation hubs found that China is quickly catching up to the US in terms of its potential for disruptive breakthroughs. In a survey conducted by KPMG among global tech innovation leaders, 23 percent of them indicated that China shows the most promise for disruptive technology breakthroughs that will deliver the most global impact. The US is still the biggest force in innovation, with 26 percent of leaders indicating as such. KPMG said this trend boils down to its shift from manufacturing to services. Innovation is led by its large mobile and digitally savvy consumer…

Tencent, a leading Internet company in China best known for its popular platforms QQ and Weixin/WeChat, is the most active corporate investor in Asia’s burgeoning tech scene, having made over 30 investments to VC-backed tech companies in Asia since Q1’16. The company has backed the highest number of Chinese unicorns of 15, according to a new report by CB Insights. Asia currently hosts 62 unicorns, which make up US$283.5 billion in private value. China alone has 46 of these unicorns, among which 21 are backed by four of the country’s largest Internet firms: Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and Tencent. “Five companies…

There are some big news from Asia IoT scene last week, such as Cybersecurity Rules Proposed for Hong Kong Securities Industry, Introducing robots in hotels in Singapore as well as Sharp commits $1b to SoftBank’s $90b-plus fund in IoT push. Below we have listed out the top 8 IoT news around Asia for this week: ALPHAGO’S CHINA SHOWDOWN: WHY IT’S TIME TO EMBRACE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE May 21, 2017 To err is human. Yet it is a sign of how far computer programming has come that to err is also to be artificially intelligent. When IBM Deep Blue won its six-game…

Hong Kong and China Fintech scenes have been booming latterly. There are some big news from these two fintech communities this week, such as China Central Bank sets up fintech committee, Alibaba invests in its first fintech company in Hong Kong as well as UK regulator signs fintech co-operation deal with Hong Kong equivalent. Below we have listed out the top 8 fintech news from Hong Kong and China for this week: Chinese regulator focuses on fintech May 16, 2017 The Chinese fintech industry has gone from strength to strength as funding volumes boom and fintech giants proliferate, prompting the…

Tired of crawling the Internet to find the hottest fintech events in your region? Need not worry. Today we’ve compiled a list of the 12 most important upcoming fintech events and conferences in Hong Kong and China, so you don’t need to waste your time browsing the entire Internet to be aware of the next gathering of the world’s leading visionaries, decision makers, and fintech startups. Check out more fintech events in our event calendar and subscribe to our newsletter for all the fintech news and event updates in Hong Kong and China. 12 Upcoming Fintech Events in Hong Kong and China China FinTech…

Although the fintech market in Taiwan is relatively small and still at a very early stage of development, there is huge potential for growth considering Taiwan’s large pool of highly educated and tech-orientated workforce, vigorous entrepreneurship spirit and sophisticated ICT technologies and infrastructures, according to a new report. Taiwan is ranked the 15th in the Global Competitiveness Index 2015-2016, and the 6th in the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Index. These indicators show Taiwan’s advanced innovation-driven economy, and the vigorous innovative activities from the local SMEs and startups. Taiwan is currently implementing a regulatory sandbox and weighting up the choices of different…

A white paper by the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council (HKFSDC) is examining how Hong Kong can develop its blockchain capabilities to serve the region. According to the paper, Hong Kong, with its large financial sector and its strategic role vis-à-vis Mainland China and the world, has the potential to take on an important role in distributed ledger technology (DLT). Investment in DLT would be a crucial step towards preparing Hong Kong across a broader front for a more technology-intense future. Bitcoins are an example on how blockchain works to encrypt financial transactions. Blockchain’s proposition is of a ledger…

The telecoms industry is not immune to disruption, according to a new report by Juvo. As Over-The-Top (OTT) service providers profit from revenue streams, mobile operators are forced to move away from commoditised services like network reach and quality and into new differentiated offerings that leverage subscriber data. On the customer side, they use interactive real-time products that change in response to the behavior from an entire user base, which in the case of Facebook, can correspond to billions of users. This is enabled by data science, which applies advanced mathematical and statistical techniques to big data to uncover insights that…

Fintech is set to transform the financial services landscape and presents both opportunities and challenges. But for Hong Kong to capitalize on the trend and become a leading fintech center within the region and one of the leading centers in the world, it must take proactive steps, according to a new report by the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council. Mainland China is already a fintech leader in terms of scale. Hong Kong, however, and despite its large financial sector, has only a modest showing in the fintech space. “Does [fintech] matter?” the paper asks. “Yes, fintech matters for Hong…

Networking is a pillar of entrepreneurship and there is no simpler and more convenient way to do it than online. With new connections, new ideas, projects and collaborations may just materialise. Shapr, a tool that helps entrepeneurs network by matching them with each other might just be the easiest way to expand your social and business circle. Shapr is an app with an interface similar to a matchmaking app, in which it brings people together based on their interests, location and professional experience. Users will only be connected with each other if both have indicated interest in interacting, leaving no…