Investment in Hong Kong fintech firms more than doubled in 2017 compared to the previous year, jumping to US$545.7 million, according to an Accenture analysis of data from CB Insights. Since 2010, Hong Kong fintechs have raised a whooping US$940 million, compared to with US$387 million raised by Singapore-based start-ups and US$714 million for those in Australia, according to the analysis. These are seven of Hong Kong’s most well-funded fintech companies (based on disclosed funding): WeLab – US$425 million Founded in 2013 in Hong Kong, WeLab specialized in alternative funding and digital lending. The company has developed a proprietary risk…

With more and more investment pouring into blockchain startups, the demand for talents in blockchain technology has also risen. Blockchain courses are becoming popular in Hong Kong and China. What are the trends in blockchain courses? Blockchain Courses in China: Blockchain courses are expensive, but not all are equal As the interest and demand in blockchain technology grow, blockchain courses are also increasingly popular. A blockchain course can cost as high as US$10,000, but the quality of some of the course providers is in doubt. All kinds of courses related to blockchain are popping up in China. While online courses provided…

The technology, media and telecom (TMT) sector is set to boost the Hong Kong IPO market, as several mega-sized deals are expected to raise over HKD100 billion in the second half of 2018, increasing the full year fundraising to HKD250 billion, KPMG forecasts. The number of Main Board IPOs in 2018 H1 will increase to 48 from 33 a year ago, although total fundraising will decline 11 percent to HKD 46.8 billion as a result of a decline in average deal size to HKD 980 million from HKD1.58 billion, according to KPMG analysis. The GEM is poised to end 2018…

With the abundance of tech talents, Taiwan has become a hot spot for blockchain startups. As the awareness and demand for blockchain development rose, corporations and institutions start to work with blockchain startups to innovate. Blockchain technology is applied in different industries, including finance, medicine, logistics, entertainment, and Internet of Things. Blockchain startups in Taiwan are ambitious, ready to revolutionize the industries and expand globally. Here a pick of 6 interesting blockchain startups from Taiwan that you should know. OwlTings Starting as an e-commerce platform, OwlTings began to extend its reach into blockchain last year. OwlTings launched 2 blockchain products, OwlChain, the world’s…

Leonardo Render has begun an official foray into the Asian blockchain market, starting with a presence at the MARVELS World Blockchain Summit in Seoul, Korea June 18-19, 2018. MARVEL is a globally minded conference is a meeting of entrepreneurs, IT and business interests, federal agency representatives, and other blockchain and cryptocurrency industry thought leaders. Leonardo Render is currently partnering with peers and innovators in talks and meetings during this conference. Leonardo Render will continue to delve into the Asian blockchain market with appearances at additional Asian conferences and roadshows. Specifically, they will be meeting with stakeholders in China at as…

China is undeniably the world’s fintech leader, hosting some of the largest and most popular ventures in the field. More than US$20 billion has been invested in Chinese fintech companies since 2014 with funding topping US$1 billion in Q1 2018 alone, according to Fintech Global. These are ten of China’s most well-funded fintech companies (based on disclosed funding): Ant Financial – US$18.5 billion Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate company of the Chinese Alibaba Group, is one of the world’s largest online financial services companies and the highest valued fintech company in the world with a valuation of upwards…

Starting from this month, fintech startups in Taiwan can officially apply to join the fintech regulatory sandbox (also known as “Finance Science and Technology Development and Innovation Experiments Bill”) established by the Financial Supervisory Commission. The fifth country to have a fintech sandbox, Taiwan is ready to introduce its fintech innovations to the world. Here are the top 7 fintech startups in Taiwan you should know: LnB LnB, short for “Lend & Borrow”, is Taiwan’s first P2P lending platform. Founded in 2015, LnB has approved more than NT$150M (US$5M) in loans. LnB has its own credit scoring system, rating loan…

China is undeniably the world leader in fintech, hosting some of the most innovative and successful companies in the sector, including Alibaba’s Ant Financial worth a whopping US$150 billion and Lufax, China’s largest online wealth management platform worth an estimated US$60 billion. The success of China’s fintech industry can be attributed to the government’s efforts to cultivate the country’s knowledge economy. Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen have attracted and retained talent in the financial services and technology sectors and now, unsurprisingly, house some of the country’s biggest fintech companies. Guangdong, a tech center Guangdong has been…

Cyberport, which houses the largest fintech community in Hong Kong, has been at the forefront of the fintech revolution as the organization works towards developing the local digital technology industry and turn Hong Kong into a “smart city.” Claiming a digital community of 1,000 companies, Cyberport is a business park in Hong Kong consisting of four office buildings, a hotel, and a retail entertainment complex. It describes itself as a “creative digital community” with a cluster of technology and digital tenants. Owned and managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR…

Blockchain has been an important topic for fintech development in Hong Kong. As a global financial hub, it is no surprise investors flock to Hong Kong for ICOs and cryptocurrency trading. However, blockchain startups in Hong Kong do not just focus on fintech, but also other industries such as real estate, transportation, administration, etc. The following are 10 interesting up-and-coming blockchain startups and projects in Hong Kong: CryptoBLK CryptoBLK focuses on building, deploying, and operating DLT solutions and systems for various financial services domains. Their successful cases include Topaz, a Proptech platform for property valuation data, MIDAS, an Insuretech solution,…

Online blockchain media are on the rise in China. According to the statistics by Daily Economic News, 7 blockchain media companies in China raised funding in merely 9 days, between March 1 and March 9. There was a spate of news of relating to a series of  blockchain media companies raising funds in March, including 5 Bite, Shenlian Finance, Hi Block, 8 BTC, Huoxing Finance, TZ Code, and Tuoluo Finance. The largest of which, was 8 BTC’s ¥100M (around US$15.7M) series A round, led by Puhua Capital and Funcity Capital, and joined by QF Capital and Bitmain. 23Mio Funding for…

In 2010, Zhen Liu started what became China’s first hedge fund and four years later he founded the country’s first robo-advisory firm, Clipper Advisor. He has since moved into the crypto space, having recently launched Clipper Coin Capital, which he hopes to turn into an investment bank for the crypto industry.His new firm aspires to offer traditional investment banking functions for the crypto sector including advisory and consulting, industry due diligence and research as well as asset management service. The firm has gathered together a team of analysts that would apply modern financial theories and methodologies to produce ratings reports and crypto…

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has taken a critical tone on initial coin offerings (ICOs), qualifying many of these as “dubious, if not downright frauds.” In a speech at the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association on April 13, Julia Leung, deputy chief executive officer and executive director of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong, said that while technologies such as blockchain have the potential to improve efficiency and financial inclusion, the high volatility of cryptocurrencies, the risk of hacking incidents as well as rampant scams in the space, make cryptocurrencies and ICOs highly risky…

Six FinTech startups from across Asia and around the world kicked off DBS Accelerator in Hong Kong this year, seeking to shape the future of finance with innovative solutions in enhancing the customer’s digital journey, data analytics, as well as compliance transformation and more. The six startups are CUBE, cyberProductivity, DOV-E, Fractal Labs, Hyper Anna, and Privé Technologies. This brings the total number of DBS Accelerator participants to over 30 since the DBS Bank (Hong Kong) programme’s launch in 2015. CUBE is a powerful RegTech solution that delivers unprecedented cuts in regulatory costs, and minimizes your risk of…

“Bigtechs,” or Internet-based platform companies such as Amazon, Alibaba, Facebook and Tencent, are making inroads into the finance and banking business, threatening incumbent banks that are not responding fast enough to the digitalization of the industry, according to a new report by Citi. In a report titled “Bank of the Future, the ABCs of Digital Disruption in Finance” , Citi GPS examines digital trends including artificial intelligence (AI), bigtech, core banking and cloud, and digital assets, and identifies how incumbent banks can adopt these disruptive factors to move their businesses forward. Notably, the emergence of the bigtechs is threating banks as…

South Korea’s financial regulator is planning to launch a regulatory sandbox to allow fintech startups to introduce new products and services without the need to comply with existing regulations. The move is intended to boost fintech development and came in response to criticism over the government’s so-called “restrictive fintech policies.” Under the new initiative, which was unveiled last week, fintech startups will be exempted from regulations for two years if their apps or services are determined to be “innovative” by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), officials said. If a product unexpectedly hurts consumers’ interest, the FSC could order the firm…

When talking about fintech in China, it is common to hear mentions of hubs such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, but the lesser known city of Hangzhou is quickly catching up with its counterparts. Hangzhou, a startup hub Hangzhou is the fourth largest city by Internet company numbers, and according to the New York Times, it hosts more than 1,000 startups. The city’s most notable tech firm is China’s largest e-commerce firm Alibaba. The e-commerce giant got its start in Hangzhou and has maintained its headquarters there, as did Chinese conglomerates like Geely, the parent company of…

FintechNews has put together a list of top Fintech books you must read. This Top Fintech Books list tailors for both beginners and experts who want to get a deeper look into Digital Finance. From financial services, mobile banking, blockchain, bitcoin and cybermoney, wealth management to insurtech trends and more, you’ll find various Fintech topics covered by popular Digital Finance and Fintech experts such as Brett King, Jonathan McMillan or Michael J. Casey, Chris Skinner in the list below. Chris Skinner just released a new book called “Digital Human” and we are also waiting for Brett Kings new Book Bank…

With the surge in popularity of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, hundreds of events and conferences are being organized around the world to sensitize top executives and decision makers on the potential of these technologies. Here are 12 must-attend events focusing on blockchain and cryptocurrencies taking place in the coming months: Token2049 March 20-21, 2018 Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong Token2049 promises to be the largest digital asset event in Asia where experts explore in-depth the growing crypto ecosystem. The event will shine a light on the global developments of this new asset class, while taking a unique and widening perspective on the…

The Hong Kong government will be allocating HK$500 million over the next five years to support its financial services industry, including the development of fintech, Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan said on February 28. In his annual budget speech, Chan pledged to support technology and innovation, recognizing IT as “an economic driver in the new era.” “Hong Kong must optimize its resources by focusing on developing its areas of strength, namely biotechnology, artificial intelligence, smart city and fintech, and forge ahead according to the eight major directions set out by the chief executive,” Chan said. HK$500 million will go…