FintechHK Quarterly News Roundup - Q2 2022

Data Showed Extensive Adoption of Fintech in the Banking Sector

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced in June the results of the Tech Baseline Assessment and its plans to further support the industry’s fintech adoption.
• The results showed that Banks intend extensively use both established (e.g. cloud, API and Low Code Automation) and more novel technologies (e.g. Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Ledger Technology) as they advance their fintech strategies.
• By 2025, Regtech, Paytech and Lendingtech are expected to be the most mature and widely adopted fintech business areas, while Investech and Wealthtech
• Greentech is one of the fastest growing fintech segments. Its adoption is set to increase rapidly and projected to double to around 60% of banks by 2025, reflecting the industry’s immense interest in green and sustainable finance.

Survey Shows Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data Ecosystem Growth in Hong Kong

• In May 2022, the FinTech Association of Hong Kong announced the results of its Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Survey.
• Hong Kong is considered a top regional tech hub, with firms looking to expand headcount while looking for government support around regulatory change. The findings also showed that 75% of respondents have chosen Hong Kong as their headquarters while around 70% regard Hong Kong as their top market.

HKMA Issued a Discussion Paper on e-HKD

• In April 2022, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued a discussion paper outlining the key policy and design issues related to the introduction of e-HKD in Hong Kong.
• As a new electronic form of central bank money, e-HKD could bring both benefits and challenges to Hong Kong’s currency and financial stability, as well as its role as an international financial centre. With appropriate functionalities and attributes, e-HKD could help position the city for the challenges of alternative units of account (i.e. stablecoins) dominating in Hong Kong, even though such possibility remains remote.

Hong Kong is Home to the Highest Number of Top Digital Banks in APAC

• TABInsights has launched the world’s first comprehensive assessment of global digital banks, The Global Top 100 Digital Bank Ranking 2022, ranking them according to a set of evaluation criteria across five key dimensions – customer, market/product coverage, profitability, asset and deposit growth and funding.
• WeBank from China led the chart at the top, while Hong Kong was the most represented jurisdiction among 43 places, with PAObank, ZA Bank, Airstar Bank, MOX Bank, WeLab Bank, livi Bank and Fusion Bank included in the ranking.

Hong Kong Ranked World's Fifth Most Competitive Place

• Hong Kong ranked fifth globally in the International Institute for Management Development’s World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) 2022. The city moved up two places from its ranking last year.
• Among the four aspects considered in WCY 2022, Hong Kong continued to rank favourably in "Government efficiency" and "Business efficiency". The city’s rankings in "Economic performance" and "Infrastructure” also improved, jumping from 30^th to 15^th and from 16^th to 14^th

InvestHK Introduces Expanded Programme for Global Fast Track 2022

• In June 2022, Invest Hong Kong announced the Global Fast Track 2022, a programme that helps fintech companies utilise the unique advantages of Hong Kong to scale across Asia while also building a solid foundation for long-term growth.
• Global Fast Track will feature for the first time Service Champions selected from a broad spectrum of professional service providers, including but not limited to law firms, marketing agencies, information service providers and talent development companies. This will allow participating fintech firms to enjoy long-term, tailored and holistic support for their varying needs throughout the business cycle.
• Global Fast Track is now open for applications from global and local fintech companies looking to connect with corporate clients and investors through a series of business matching, pitching and mentoring activities.

FintechHK Fast Track Series 

• Planto: Enhancing Digital Experiences with Data

Check out this video to learn how Planto’s enrichment engine and intelligence API make use of data to help financial institutions understand their customers and transform digital banking experiences in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and South East Asia.

• Velotrade: Explore Business Opportunities in Trade Finance in Hong Kong

In this video, Velotrade shares how their digital trade finance platform acts as a digital bridge to match institutional investors' excess liquidity with corporates' needs.

• Ntuple: Starting Their International Expansion with Hong Kong

This video shows how Ntuple’s no-code API solution, SyncTree, solves the pain points in data exchange by making back-end programming simple, efficient, and scalable.

Developing “Made in Hong Kong” Technology

• This video shows the journey of FORMS HK, exploring how the company not only used its technologies to support the development of Hong Kong but also exported their solutions to other markets. The company has played a key role in fostering the growth of virtual banks in the region, while also helping established banks and central banks expedite digital transformation and prepare for the future of the digital economy.

 Webinar Playback

• Why NFT? Why Now? Insights From Visionaries Cai Wensheng & Liang Xinjun

This webinar features Cai Wensheng, a renowned angel investor, and Liang Xinjun, co-founder of Fosun Group, sharing their views on virtual asset investment and how technologies such as NFT and blockchain will change the creative industry.

• Embrace the New World of Digital Assets

Check out this webinar to learn more about digital assets from regulators, leading industry experts, and academic thought leaders. The session covers the latest trends, uncertainties, and potential solutions in the digital asset space.

• 12 July: Webinar – Overview of Corporate Finance in Metaverse and Art Tech
  • Family offices are used by ultra-high net worth families to address financial and non-financial needs. Observers note that digital assets investment will play a bigger role in family offices given the higher risk tolerance of the younger generation.
  • This webinar highlights new trends related to family offices, provides insights on corporate finance in metaverse, and covers the latest developments in Art Tech.
  • Click this link for more details.

• 5-10 September: Startmeup Festival 2022
  • Curated by InvestHK, the StartmeupHK Festival is Asia’s leading annual startup event. Guided by the theme “A Future Unlimited”, this year’s festival will feature seven main events organised by core event partners and a series of community events to add further diversity to the week.
  • All events are opened to attendees across the globe. They will showcase the latest startup and business trends on the metaverse, NFTs, gaming, sustainability, tech investments, healthtech, proptech, and more.
  • Visit the Startmeup Festival 2022 official website for more details and registration.