Financial regulations and IT changes are creating an environment where businesses must quickly adapt to stay relevant to their clients. Clients expect a secure, seamless, and efficient way of staying connected with the global markets. Companies are increasingly looking to have fintech solutions that can make a difference to their clients and businesses. In the bonds market, most bonds trade over the counter. It takes tremendous effort to manually handle every transactional process, including checking for liquidity, creating settlement instructions, handling complicated corporate actions, performing manual reconciliation, etc. Manual processing may also increase the risks of human errors, bringing a…

Hong Kong’s virtual bank ZA has rolled out its new debt consolidation programme ‘Debt Changer’ which seeks to make it easier for customers to repay their debts in one go and improve their credit ratings. The new offering will consolidate customers’ debts with other banks, financial institutions and credit cards into a single loan within the ZA Bank app. Debt Changer which also offers payment deferment of up to 6 months. According to ZA, no principal and interest repayments will be incurred during the period, offering users greater flexibility in handling their loan and credit card balances. As the interest…

Hong Kong’s Transport Department (TD) will be gradually rolling out the HKeToll at all government tolled tunnels this year to replace the manual and automatic toll booths. HKeToll makes use of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, with the support of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology, to allow vehicles to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. Tunnel tolls will be deducted from the pre-set toll payment accounts in the system, and users will be notified. The HKeToll supports multiple payment methods and there are no monthly fees. The TD will provide the first vehicle tag for every licensed…

InvestHK’s Director-General of Investment Promotion Stephen Phillips has embarked on a duty visit to Jakarta, Indonesia as well as Singapore this week. The tour is part of InvestHK’s latest efforts to promote Hong Kong’s business attractions, including the opportunities arising from the Greater Bay Area (GBA). During the visit, Phillips will be meeting with representatives of companies from the financial services sector as well as other industries to discuss their plans of setting up or expanding operations in Hong Kong and other parts of the GBA. Phillips will also host a business roundtable cum luncheon for member companies of the…

Manulife has announced the appointment of Anne-Maree Tassell as its new Chief Operations Officer for Asia effective today onwards. Anne-Maree will be driving the Manulife’s growth strategy and digital transformation in the region. She has more than 30 years’ experience in financial services and will play a pivotal role in shaping Manulife’s customer-facing operations including straight-through processing and automation. Anne-Maree will be reporting to both Damien Green, President and CEO of Manulife Asia, and Rahul Joshi, Manulife’s Global Chief Operations Officer. She joins Manulife from Citi, where she held leadership roles across Australia, Hong Kong and the UK. Most recently,…

Hong Kong’s virtual bank ZA announced that it has rolled out another short-term savings insurance plan starting from HKD 10,000 (approximately US$ 1,280) through the app in just 3 minutes. The ‘ZA Savings Insurance 4’ is denominated in Hong Kong dollars with an 18-month locked-in period. The maximum premium for each insured person and policy is capped at HKD 500,000. According to ZA Bank, the insurance plan offers guaranteed returns of 4.8% p.a. 3 at maturity if no surrender has been made. The bank added that users will receive a premium discount of 0.65% during a limited-time which translates into…

Temenos announced that Next Bank , a new digital bank backed by Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s largest telecom operator, has gone live on Temenos’ core banking platform. One of the first digital banks in Taiwan to receive a virtual banking license from the island’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), Next Bank is aiming to build a bank that makes financial management simple with innovative thinking, design aesthetics and friendly experiences. On the Temenos open platform, Next Bank said it can bring products to market fast and scale efficiently. Today, the digital bank offers deposits, cards, loans and an innovative points program giving…

Metaverse ecosystem builder Animoca Brands and blockchain interoperability protocol LayerZero have launched a global hackathon to demonstrate real-world use cases of interoperable digital assets. The LayerZero-Animoca Brands Hackerhouse will gather developers, projects and companies to conceptualise and build proof-of-concepts that will push the technical boundaries of cross-chain standards. Animoca Brands and LayerZero aim to organise events across major cities every year with its inaugural stop being held at Hong Kong digital tech park Cyberport on 12 December 2022. The event received the support of ecosystem partners including Zellic, OtterSec, Brinc, and Cyberport. Over 50 participants representing more than 25 companies…

The Asia-Pacific financial sector is undergoing rapid transformation. Consumers’ expectations have significantly increased as a result of the digital revolution and the emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic. That was why banking software company Temenos organised a series of industry events across Asia Pacific to engage global and regional banks, fintechs as well as hyperscalers to gain insights on how the banking industry should both respond and reposition itself to navigate an evolving banking landscape more effectively. More than 1,100 combined attendees from the industry gathered across 11 cities – Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Taipei, Jakarta, Singapore, Hanoi, Bangkok, Hong Kong,…

InvestHK has soft launched the FintechHK Community Platform to encourage local startups to expand their business to the Mainland, Southeast Asia, and other regions. Supported by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and InvestHK, the initiative comes as an extension of the Global Fast Track Programme. The Global Fast Track brings together fintech companies that already have commercial customers in their home market and beyond to showcase their business solutions and connect with regional corporates and investors. Through this platform, fintech companies will be able to feature their company profile, value proposition, innovative solutions, fund-raising needs, and other…

In Q2 and Q3 2022, consumer credit activity in Hong Kong increased in key product categories amid eased COVID-19 restrictions, the launch of Phase II of the Consumption Voucher, as well as improved consumer sentiment and employment situations, new findings from a research by American consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion reveal. The TransUnion Q3 2022 Industry Insights report and Consumer Pulse Study share consumer credit trends and explore how their personal finances changed during the past quarter. Findings from the study show that credit activity in Hong Kong increased during Q2-Q3 2022, recording growth in the origination of loans on…

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) announced that it will be setting up a new office in New York and will build out its team over the coming months. The new New York office will complement HKEX’s existing international reach from its offices in Shanghai, Beijing, and Singapore. Headed by Roger McAvoy, Managing Director and Head of Business Development, North America, the New York office will provide an on-the-ground dedicated team for HKEX’s North American customers. The new office will promote HKEX’s liquid primary and secondary cash markets as well as its exclusive connectivity with Mainland China’s markets and…

Hong Kong is looking to enhance its climate data availability and sustainability reporting through the partnership between the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group and international non-profit CDP. The Steering Group is co-chaired by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Both entities will work together to facilitate data flow by providing financial institutions with better data resources to assess climate and environmental related risks and transition towards carbon neutrality. They also aim to support capacity building and upskilling to facilitate local companies in disclosing high-quality climate and other environmental-related data. As part…

Toss, a South Korean super app operated by fintech startup Viva Republica, announced that it has raised a US$405 million Series G funding round and is now valued at US$$7 billion, according to a report by TechCrunch. This is the third tranche of Toss’ Series G as the company had previously raised approximately US$226 million and US$175.8 million in the third quarter of 2022. In addition to that, the super app had managed to secure US$410 million in pre-Series G funding just last year. The fundraise was led by Tonic Private Equity which was joined by the state-run Korea Development Bank…

RD Wallet Technologies, a Hong Kong-based e-wallet operator offering payment services to corporates, announced that it has been granted the Stored Value Facility (SVF) license by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). The company was set up by Norman Chan, its current Chairman, after he stepped down as the Chief Executive at HKMA in 2020. RD Wallet is a B2B electronic payment platform which will facilitate cross-border trade as it supports currencies commonly used in regional trade. According to RD Wallet, it will be announcing the launch of its services for corporate customers soon. Norman Chan, Chairman of RD Wallet…

The Hong Kong government is seeking feedback firm the public for the next three months until 20 March 2023 on its proposal to enhance the regulation of crowdfunding activities. The Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau has published a consultation paper which sets out various recommendations on enhancing the transparency and accountability of crowdfunding activities. This includes requiring in-principle future crowdfunding activities to make an application and obtain permission before commencement and ensuring sufficient transparency to the public during and after the conduct of crowdfunding activities. The paper also suggests setting up a Crowdfunding Affairs Office to centrally process regulatory…

Travel and leisure booking platform Klook has partnered with AXA Hong Kong & Macau to provide insurance protection for its customers. Under this partnership, AXA and Klook will first launch “Klook Travel Care” for its Hong Kong customers. The offering covers COVID-19 related trip cancellation before departure, medical expenses incurred or trip interruption to those who contract COVID-19 during the journey. It also covers activities such as self-driving and amateur sports. Klook’s customers can review their policies and submit claims through the Emma by AXA app, the insurer’s all-in-one insurance and health services platform, to streamline the claims process. This allows…

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced the appointment of Julia Leung as its Chief Executive Officer for a three-year term, effective 1 January 2023. She is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer since 2018 and an Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the SFC Leung will be succeeding Ashley Alder who will take up a new appointment in the United Kingdom as Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority in January 2023. Lui Tim Leung, Chairman at SFC said, “I am certain Ms Leung’s dedication to the Commission will continue in her new role, and the SFC will…

Adyen, a global payments firm for businesses, has announced the launch of its unified commerce solution in Japan for in-person payments. This will enable Japanese businesses to optimise their authorisation rates, block fraud, and provide seamless cross-channel journeys. The unified commerce solution gives businesses end-to-end control of transactions across different sales channels on Adyen’s single platform. These businesses can now access features such as click-and-collect, endless aisle, and cross-channel returns. “This isn’t simply about digitisation or going cashless. It’s about being fast, flexible, and building for growth. Very few platforms in Japan can centrally merge payments data from stores and…

HashKey Group, a Hong Kong-based digital asset management and blockchain solutions provider, has partnered with digital insurer ZA International to invest in digital assets, Web 3.0 and distributed ledger technology (DLT) amongst other areas. Through this MoU, both entities will be pooling their resources, expertise and experience, and work to achieve this. ZA International is the international arm of China’s ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance and holds both virtual banking and digital-only insurance licenses in Hong Kong. The company had recently unveiled its plan to tokenise its ZA Coin offered under its reward programme. Meanwhile, HashKey has made investments in over…