Hong Kong boasts of a thriving fintech scene with a dynamic environment that can help fintech start-ups to scale up and expand. Hong Kong has also been recognised by KPMG as one of the leading technology hubs outside Silicon Valley. However, to ensure that it remains a top fintech hub, it is important for Hong Kong to have a fintech-savvy workforce that can meet the skills and competencies needed by the fintech industry. The HKMA, understanding this, has since included a mission to expand a fintech-savvy workforce as one of five focus areas under the Hong Kong Fintech 2025 Strategy.…

Hong Kong-based digital asset custody service provider Hex Trust has raised US$10 million in an investment round led by Animoca Brands. Animoca Brands, which integrates entertainment and gamification with blockchain technology, will serve as a strategic partner to Hex Trust as the custodian rolls out additional services covering the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market. Other investors include Ripple Labs, Algorand Foundation, BCW Group, Tessera Capital Partners, Mind Fund, Double Peak Group, and Token Bay Capital. Several investors of the US$6 million Series A round closed earlier this year also participated, including QBN Capital, Kenetic Capital, MANTRA DAO, Borderless Capital, Radiant Tech…

Recently the Hong Kong Monetary Authority laid out its new plan to boost the development of Hong Kong’s fintech sector, dubbed Fintech 2025 one of the key areas included creating a next-generation data infrastructure, the Commercial Data Exchange. The new data strategy was first unveiled by HKMA’s Chief Executive Eddie Yue during Hong Kong Fintech Week 2020. What is The Commercial Data Interchange? The CDI is a consent-based financial infrastructure, and a pilot launch of the CDI is expected towards the end of 2021. The HKMA has also launched the Commercial Data Interchange Innovation Hub to facilitate the development and…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has released a technical whitepaper on retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), titled “e-HKD: A technical perspective”. Building on the experience in wholesale CBDCs, in June 2021, the HKMA has started a study on the prospect of issuing retail CBDC in Hong Kong, i.e. e-HKD with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Hong Kong Center. The project covers both technical and policy considerations, and aims to come up with an initial view by the middle of next year. The whitepaper also explores potential technical design options for issuing and distributing retail CBDCs.…

In its sixth edition, Hong Kong Fintech Week will completely reinvent your previous event experience by combining a physical conference in Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with digital access from anywhere in the world. With only a few weeks left before the most anticipated event of the year, Hong Kong Fintech Week 2021 on November 1-5, we summarised the most important reasons on why you should attend it this year. Please visit www.fintechweek.hk for details and registration! 1. Dive into 100+ hours of content with 180+ sessions Don’t worry if you are not able to visit the event in…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Bank of Thailand, BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Center (BISIH), People’s Bank of China and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates have reveled findings from their joint Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) project. Project Inthanon-Lionrock Phase 2 found that the prototype platform for multiple CBDC settlements is able to complete international transfers and foreign exchange operations within seconds, as opposed to the 3-5 days normally required. The cost of such operations can also be reduced by up to half, according to the project’s report. In particular, additional hypothetical currencies and jurisdictions were incorporated…

The Board of Mox Bank Limited (“Mox”) announced the appointment of Barbaros Uygun as the CEO of Mox and Executive Director of the Board with effect from 27 September 2021. After creating a strong foundation for Mox over three years, Deniz Güven will step down as CEO of Mox and Executive Director of the Board, with effect from 27 September 2021, to pursue a new business venture. He will serve as a special advisor to Standard Chartered on a number of important digital initiatives. Barbaros is a proven leader with a wealth of experience in digital banking and transformation, bringing…

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com announced that it has expanded its total insurance coverage to US$750 million, including both direct and indirect custodian coverage for more than 10 million of it users. The insurance policy offers protection against physical damage or destruction, and third-party theft. According to Crypto.com, this policy is the largest coverage that it has ever secured for its cold storage assets on Ledger Vault, the company’s custodial partner. The platform had previously secured a US$100 million direct insurance policy led by Arch Underwriting at Lloyd’s Syndicate 2012. Kris Marszalek, Co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com said, “We believe…

TikTok’s owner ByteDance said on September 01, 2021 that it plans to scale back its fintech business and sell its securities brokerage operations amid regulatory pressure on fintech companies. The firm did not name the business unit it intends to divest nor did it provide data about its financial services business, but report by Chinese media LatePost claims that ByteDance is planning to exit the brokerage business completely. This follows the abandonment of its long-prepared wealth management business earlier this year, the report says. In Hong Kong, ByteDance runs Songshu Zhengquan, which translates to Squirrel Securities. Songshu Zhengquan provides financial information…

Cross border payments firm Airwallex announced it has raised US$200 million in an oversubscribed Series E financing round, increasing the company’s valuation to US$4 billion. This latest investment which was led by Lone Pine Capital follows an extended Series D capital raise earlier this year in March. Airwallex has secured more than US$700 million in equity funds to date. New investors G Squared and Vetamer Capital also joined the round, alongside existing investors including 1835i Ventures (formerly ANZi), DST Global, Salesforce Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. The firm said in a statement that the new funding will allow it to…

Globalization Partners, a US-based compliant and automated global employment platform, found that companies that grow internationally without prioritising compliance are sure to run into problems according to its “7 Compliance Challenges Companies Face When Growing Globally” e-book. As a fast-growing fintech industry, scaling up and expanding internationally are key components to your growth. But how do you navigate the complex labyrinth of global compliance? Preparing for compliance before expansion — why is it important? Entity setup, hiring, onboarding, financial reporting, transactions, and product and service commercialisation are but a few of the myriad aspects of compliance. And when it comes to talent,…

American consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion has signed a US3.1 billion deal to acquire Neustar, an identity resolution company, from a private investment group led by Golden Gate Capital and with minority participation by GIC. ​​​​​​Neustar’s security business, which is excluded from the transaction, will become a Golden Gate Capital and GIC portfolio company following the close of the transaction. The acquisition expands TransUnion’s digital identity capabilities through the addition of Neustar’s distinctive data and analytics, enabling consumers and businesses to transact online with greater confidence. Headquartered in Virginia, Neustar is expected to generate approximately US$575 million of revenue and…

ZA One, an integrated financial services platform under ZA International, has rolled out a fund service for individual investors in a bid to democratise wealth management. Users can now invest via the ZA One app with a minimum subscription fee of as low as HKD 1. ZA One offers a selection of quality funds, combined with its proprietary multi-dimensional fund analyses, to give users a comprehensive understanding of each product’s features. The new fund service also offers complementary tools including “Fund for Beginner” and “Simple Search” so users can make their first step towards investing with ease. ZA added that…

Hong Kong’s virtual bank Mox announced the roll out of its ‘Instant Loan’ offering a year after the launch of its operations in the country. This new product, which is already available in its app, allows Mox Credit customers to borrow from up to HKD 25,000 as an introductory offer and pay HKD10 or less in fees and interest. The repayment period for this will be between 3 and 6 months. The application process is reportedly pretty straightforward as it does not require any documentations and will be processed instantly. If successful, the amount will be credited to the customer’s…

The metaverse, a combination of “meta”, meaning beyond, and “universe”, has rapidly emerged as a major trend for companies around the world, a growth that’s been fueled by the global pandemic, lockdown measures, and the boom in cryptocurrencies. In South Korea, financial firms, including brokerages, banks, credit card issuers and insurers, are jumping on the bandwagon, fast embracing the concept to appeal to younger generations. An August 2021 report by the Korea Times shows that brokerage firms and banks are actively building virtual environments for their customers. For example, NH Investment & Securities, one of the largest securities firms in…

China has officially launched the Wealth Management Connect (WMC) with Hong Kong and Macau to carry out cross-boundary investment in wealth management products distributed by banks in the area. The Wealth Management Connect trading scheme will initially handle a total fund flow of 300 billion yuan (US$46.5 billion). The Hong Kong government said that the WMC is the is the first mutual market access mechanism for individual investors who will be able to invest up to 1 million Yuan. Under the scheme, Hong Kong investors will have to open a designated remittance account at an eligible bank of their own choice…

After a period of rapid growth and innovation, the Chinese Internet sector is entering a new phase of development on the back of new stringent regulations, changing demographics and geopolitical tensions, according to the South China Morning Post’s annual China Internet Report 2021. The study, released on August 31, 2021, looks at Beijing’s key role in shaping the country’s technology ecosystem and unveils new trends and insights impacting China’s fast-growing Internet industry. According to the study, a changing regulatory environment, the rise of senior netizens and the “sheconomy”, as well as intensifying geopolitical tensions, are pushing Chinese Internet giants to…

PayPal announced that it has agreed to acquire Paidy, a Japanese buy now pay later solutions (BNPL), for ¥300 billion (approximately US$2.7 billion) and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. The acquisition will expand PayPal’s capabilities, distribution and relevance in the domestic payments market in Japan, the third largest ecommerce market in the world, complementing the company’s existing cross-border ecommerce business in the country. Paidy will continue to operate its existing business, maintain its brand and support a wide variety of consumer wallets and marketplaces. Russell Cummer, Founder and Executive Chairman and Sugie as…

Despite advantages including cheaper operational costs and backing from tech firms with deep pockets, Hong Kong’s digital banks will face hurdles in turning a profit. These eight newcomers will have to operate at a loss for at least the next two years and some will likely fail, warns financial information and analytics firm S&P Global. One challenge digital banks face is the high salary of banking professionals in Hong Kong and their thinner base of revenues to support this cost, said Fern Wang, a credit analyst at S&P Global Ratings. Lack of brand recognition is another challenge new entrants face…

Web Summit, the company behind RISE, announced that the tech event will be returning to Hong Kong on 14th to 17th March 2022 as an in-person event at the AsiaWorld-Expo. RISE was launched in Hong Kong in 2015, where it has been hosted five times to gather global tech founders, startups, investors and members of the media to the city. Past speakers have included Alibaba co-founder and executive vice chairman Joseph Tsai, Stripe co-founder and president John Collison, Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson, and Sequoia Capital founding managing partner Neil Shen. “We are extremely grateful for the support the city…