Hong Kong’s long-established financial center, burgeoning startup scene and developed business center connecting Mainland China with global markets, have made the location one of the world’s top fintech hubs in world. Deloitte has ranked Hong Kong as the fifth leading fintech hubs in 2016, ahead of South Korea, Switzerland and Frankfurt. According to the audit firm, Hong Kong has the natural branding of Asia’s largest financial center, providing an immediate attraction for fintech. The location’s position as Asia’s super connector is particularly attractive for B2B solutions and its historical proximity to China makes it hard for other hubs to displace…
Author: Fintech News Hong Kong
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HSBC and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) launched a research and development innovation laboratory on Monday, the latest in a series of initiatives to boost the development of financial technology (fintech) in the city. The hope is that collaboration between HSBC and ASTRI will develop solutions to real problems that affect the bank and its customers. These include development of advanced authentication technologies, cyber security protection and behavioural biometrics using artificial intelligence technologies. Peter Wong, chief executive and deputy chairman of HSBC, said at the launch ceremony that technology comprised all areas of the bank’s…
Smartkarma, the premier provider of collaborative solutions for investment research, has announced the official opening of its Hong Kong office. Building on recent international expansion and significant platform growth, the Hong Kong office will provide ongoing support for Smartkarma’s network of insight providers and clients focused on the Asian markets. “Hong Kong is an obvious choice for Smartkarma as we continue our global expansion, given its role as a key financial hub for Asia,” says Raghav Kapoor, CEO and Co-Founder, Smartkarma. “In particular, Hong Kong strengthens our offering in the equity space, a focus area for many of our Insight…
Hong Kong is the number one business city in Asia. It is the perfect base for companies that want to do business in Mainland China and across the region. Hong Kong will host its first Fintech Week in early November to position the city as the premier centre in Asia for Fintech companies and start-ups as well as for accelerators, incubators and investors searching for Fintech innovation, Invest Hong Kong announced. Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Prof KC Chan, together with 400 guests, attended a launch event in which InvestHK announced the programme details. Hong Kong Fintech Week…
There are many talks about “Digital Transformation” recently, but what does it really mean, and why is it called a disruption? Depending on how you perceive it, this term may be just a fad to you, or it may mean the beginning of an outright evolution in your company. An article by Vincent Leung, an internationally experienced Digital Marketing and Communications expert who has held digital strategy presentations in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Paris. Currently, Vincent is in charge of BNP Paribas’ Group digital branding and content strategies in Asia Pacific. Instead of only using the usual technical perspective to see…
The pace of global change in financial services continues to accelerate as market incumbents, emerging FinTech startups and newcomers of every kind try to offer more sophisticated yet convenient means of moving money. Nowhere is this trend more apparent than in Hong Kong; the city that prides itself on being the financial gateway to the rest of China as well as a hugely influential international finance hub in its own right. An emerging shift in financial and economic influencing factors means that Hong Kong’s status as the primary financial hub in China is under threat from the rest of the mainland,…
Hong Kong is making a move to challenge Singapore and others as the dominant location for fintech in Asia. Hong Kong in specific led the growth of the blockchain market in northeast Asia, with its friendly regulatory frameworks and policies for digital currency and blockchain-focused platform providers. In contempt of the advanced banking systems and financial platforms offered by the city’s multi-billion dollar banks and financial institutions, a substantial portion of the Hong Kong population currently utilizes non-bank payment platforms and applications to send cross-border payments and settle international transactions efficiently. FintechNews has made a list of fintech events in…
Ant Financial, Alipay’s parent company and Alibaba’s financial-services affiliate, is said to be worth US$75 billion, according to Elinor Leung, the head of telecom and Internet research at CLSA in Hong Kong. According to a Bloomberg report, Leung estimates that Ant Financial’s Alipay is worth US$50 billion, its micro loans service US$8 billion and its wealth management unit US$7 billion. The rest of Ant Financial’s valuation comes from investments and cash on hand. Ant Financial was founded in October 2014 by the Alibaba group after the Chinese e-commerce giant went public in the US. Ant Financial is controlled by Alibaba’s…
Automated investing services, also known as robo-advisors, are growing rapidly as they seek to provide customers with low-cost portfolios designed accordingly to each investor’s risk tolerance. According to Cerulli Associates, a financial services research firm, assets under management of robo-advisors will rise by 2,500% to US$489 billion in 2020 from US$18.7 billion in 2015. One of the regions that will be driving this trend is Asia-Pacific, which is expected to surpass Western Europe and power most the private wealth’s growth for the next decade and beyond. Given the region’s high Internet penetration rates, its large millennial population and the changing…
Regtech might not be a familiar name to most people but it is an important component in the fintech space. Regtech stands for regulatory technology which exists to help financial institutions and other organizations comply with increasingly stringent compliance rules. No Place To Hide – Banks Are Punished Around The Globe Ever since the global financial crisis in 2008, banks found themselves at the mercy of regulators. British regulator metered out a fine of $72 million pounds to Barclays for failure to do proper due diligence on their clients last year. Hong Kong regulator fined HSBC HK$605 million in May…
WeLab, one of the fastest growing fintech companies in Greater China, has announced it has secured a credit facility of US$25 million from ING Bank. WeLab is the operator of Wolaidai (我来贷), one of China’s largest mobile lending platforms, and WeLend, Hong Kong’s leading online lending platform. The firm aims to tap the bank loan market for another US$50 million in the coming months. This credit facility will provide lending capital for WeLab’s Hong Kong business and enables the company to meet rapidly growing demand for its loans in Hong Kong. WeLab’s business volume in Hong Kong more than doubled…
Hong Kong had granted Stored Value Facilities (SVF) Licenses to the first 5 batch of digital payment payment providers last month according to Startup Beat. This is in response to Payment Systems and Stored Value Facilities Ordinance which came into effect on 13 November 2015. They are Alibaba’s AliPay, Tencent’s WeChat Pay, Octopus’ O! ePay, Hong Kong Telecom’s Tap & Go and TNG’s TNG Wallet. In addition to these 5 players, Hong Kong might approve more licenses in November. The Mainland China Precedent In other words, after China opened the gates to mobile payment, Hong Kong is following its footstep.…
With financial services accounting for 16% of its GDP and employing 236,000 people, or 6% of total employment in Hong Kong, it comes with little surprise that the region has made fintech one of its top priorities. Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading international financial centers, is looking at financial technology as the natural evolution of financial services. With digitalization, artificial intelligence, robotics, hitting all major industries, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is expected to bring massive disruption in the banking and financial industry as well. Governments from all over the world are gearing up for fintech disruption. In Hong…
In 2015, Asia’s fintech startups attracted US$4.5 billion in venture capital funding through 130 deals, making the region the second biggest player in terms of venture capital following North America with US$7.7 billion through 378 deals. According to a report by KPMG and CB Insights, 2015 was a record year for Asia. The spike was attributable to a notable rise in US$50 million + deals, which included One97, Dianrong, and BankBazaar, among others. Although the US and Europe have so far led the fintech wave, Asia’s conditions are ripe for fintech, according to a report by Kapronasia, one of the…
The startups will undergo a 12-week mentorship programme led by senior financial executives in a series of workshops at the Hong Kong-based tech business park Cyberport to commercialise their products. 8 leading financial technology (fintech) companies today begin a 12-week mentorship program in the third annual FinTech Innovation Lab Asia-Pacific. The startups participating in this year’s Lab have developed a range of innovations – from wealth management solutions that are precisely oriented to customers’ investment intents, know your customer (KYC) services that leverage blockchain technology and a fraud prevention program using algorithms based in Chinese-characters to help financial institutions flag risk.…
In contempt of the advanced banking systems and financial platforms offered by the city’s multi-billion dollar banks and financial institutions, a substantial portion of the Hong Kong population currently utilizes non-bank payment platforms and applications to send cross-border payments and settle international transactions efficiently. Considering the diversity of Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem and payment infrastructures, a lot of local users still prefer to use conventional payment apps that are based in Europe and the US. However, there are a significant number of users that prefer local payment apps due to its low fees and advantages for Hong Kong-based users. Five…
Over the past few years, the fintech industries of south and northeast Asian countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, and China have demonstrated rapid growth and development, creating some of the most established and innovative Crypto and blockchain startups in all of Asia. Hong Kong in specific led the growth of the blockchain market in northeast Asia, with its friendly regulatory frameworks and policies for digital currency and blockchain-focused platform providers. Here are 6 Hong Kong-based blockchain platforms and startups you must be aware of. OK Link Founded by OK Coin’s Star Xu, OK Link is a blockchain-based payments and infrastructure…
8 Securities, a leading fintech firm in Asia, today announced the upcoming launch of Asia’s first robo-advisor mobile app Chloe in Hong Kong. The minimum investment amount with Chloe will be under HK$1,000. In addition, customers will have the freedom to deposit or withdraw money from their portfolio anytime and with no penalty at all. The app helps users set financial goals based on their life stage and income, and help them achieve their goals. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies developed in-house, Chloe will learn day by day as its user base and database grow to…
Finovate Asia in Hong Kong: Since 2007, Finovate conferences have showcased new innovations in banking, investment, insurance, lending, payment solutions and other financial services technology. At Finovate, selected startups and companies always did their best to impress a passionate crowd of more than 1,000 fintech innovators who are excited to see the future of fintech debut via their seven-minute presentations (no slides or pre-recorded videos are allowed). Finovate is a conference series focused exclusively on showcasing the best and most innovative new financial and banking technologies. Finovate has consistently attracted large, high-impact audiences of senior financial and banking executives, venture…
In the race to become Asia’s fintech hub, Singapore and Hong Kong are undeniably the two most well placed to claim the title. Singapore and Hong Kong, two of the Four Asian Tigers, are global financial centers which rely on a major capitalist service economy. Low taxation, free trade and specialization in areas of competitive advantage, have helped turn these locations into advanced and high-income economies, earning them the title world-leading international financial centers. Singapore, a gateway to Southeast Asia, has carved out its competitive niche as a destination for regional headquartered, branch offices and holding companies. With one of…