Cross-border Hong Kong FinTech Week puts focus on Bay Area (with photo)

     Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (September 12) announced details of the third annual Hong Kong FinTech Week (October 29 to November 2), which this year will straddle Hong Kong and Shenzhen to be the world's first cross-border financial technology (Fintech) event, one that spotlights the hottest industry developments and the huge potential of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
      
     Hong Kong FinTech Week will run from October 29 to November 1 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, before moving to Shenzhen on November 2. Regulators, investors, academics and more than 200 founders from the world's top Fintech companies will be among the 8,000 attendees set to gather in the two neighbouring cities.
      
     Key FinTech Week partners include the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Hong Kong Insurance Authority and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. Alongside them will be Hong Kong FinTech Week strategic partner AMTD Group, diamond sponsors Standard Chartered and Citi, Bay Area Fintech partner Tencent and the appointed event organiser Finnovasia.
      
     "The Fintech developments we have seen in Hong Kong are phenomenal," the Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Mr Stephen Phillips, said. "They reflect the dynamic nature of the city and our strategic advantage of being right at the doorstep of China's vibrant Fintech scene."
      
     High on FinTech Week's agenda will be virtual banking, trade finance through distributed ledger technology and open application programming interfaces. Fintech in China and its Greater Bay Area will also be a hot topic throughout the event, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence and blockchain. Regulatory technology, supervisory technology and cyber security will feature heavily, while insurance technology (insurtech), wealth technology and digital payments will also be discussed.
      
     The Chief Fintech Officer of the HKMA, Mr Nelson Chow, said, “This is the third year that we are co-organising Hong Kong FinTech Week with InvestHK and we are glad to see that it is expanding into Shenzhen. We believe that this cross-border event will become a powerful conduit to foster development and application of Fintech in the Greater Bay Area, and at the same time strengthen Hong Kong's role as a springboard for Mainland Fintech firms to 'go global', and for global Fintech firms to enter the Mainland market.”
      
     The SFC's Director, Licensing and Head, Fintech unit, Intermediaries, Ms Clara Chiu, said, "Hong Kong FinTech Week is an excellent forum for industry participants and other stakeholders to exchange views and share experiences. As part of our efforts to maintain and promote an efficient and fair market whilst protecting the investing public, the SFC is committed to providing a clear regulatory environment to support the healthy development of the Fintech industry."
      
     The Associate Director, Policy and Development Division, Insurance Authority, Mr Tony Chan, said, "It is exciting to witness how insurance companies in Hong Kong are leading the path of technological innovation to provide customers with services that are more convenient, timely, personalised and secure than ever. The Insurance Authority is committed to working closely with the industry to support realisation of insurtech's potential which can facilitate further development of the insurance industry."
      
     Days one and two of FinTech Week will see the demo-based FinovateAsia 2018 take place. This major Fintech start-up event is returning to Hong Kong for the third year running. Alongside it will be satellite events taking place around the city, including an innovation lab tour and education events organised by universities and academic institutions. On days three and four, the main activities will comprise a mix of speeches, panel discussions, fireside chats and workshops. The highlights will centre around the Fast Track Programme and Deal Floor.
      
     The Fast Track Programme will offer selected overseas companies on-site consultations with Hong Kong regulators and training workshops on how to start and scale their Fintech businesses in Asia. The Deal Floor will include a variety of activities, including the chance to meet some of the leading Fintech start-up unicorns, along with some of the region’s most active investors and business-matching.  
      
     Keynote speakers and panellists will include C-suite executives and leaders from Lufax, WeBank, Ant Financial, Tencent, JD Fintech Institute, Ping An (Mainland China), R3 (US), Grab Financial (Singapore), Fidor Bank (Germany), WeTrade (Ireland), Tinkoff Bank (Russia), Revolut (UK) and NuBank (Brazil).
      
     On day five, FinTech Week will move to Shenzhen for a networking lunch with government officials, senior company executives, venture investors and Fintech founders. That will be followed by in-depth visits to the headquarters of WeBank, Tencent and Zhong An with networking activities. During Shenzhen Day, participants will be able to meet key Mainland players to explore potential business opportunities and make use of Hong Kong’s vital position and appeal as a key entry point to the Greater Bay Area.
      
     The Head of Fintech at InvestHK, Mr Charles d'Haussy, introduced the refreshed Fintech HK branding which highlights Hong Kong’s positioning in the region: "It presents Hong Kong as intrinsically Fintech. The new logo reflects Fintech as an integral part of the fabric of this city. That’s the reality; that’s the message."
      
     Mr d'Haussy continued, "We've also adopted 'Launch • Leap • Lead' as a tagline. Hong Kong is the ideal place for Fintech companies to launch their business in Asia, after which they can take the leap to grow and expand outward, and then lead in the world of Fintech as so many other Hong Kong-based companies have done.”
      
     Founder and CEO of Finnovasia Mr Anthony Sar said, "It's going to be the world's first cross-border FinTech Week full of exciting events across Hong Kong and Shenzhen. We are bringing over 200 world-class speakers with 100 hours of high-quality content, including founders and CEOs of over 12 unicorns and some of the fastest growing companies around the world.”
      
     To follow the latest programmes and speakers of FinTech Week, please visit fintechweek.hk, or follow on Twitter (@HongKongFintech and #HKFintechWeek) and Linkedin.
 
About InvestHK
 
     Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department responsible for foreign direct investment. It has set up a dedicated Fintech team in Hong Kong with correspondents located in London and San Francisco. It aims at attracting the world's top innovative Fintech enterprises, start-up entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders to expand and scale their business via Hong Kong to the Mainland of China, Asia and beyond.