Search
Close this search box.

We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

InvestHK expands HK FinTech Week 2019

According to a recent press release, Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced a significant expansion of its annual Hong Kong Fintech Week. Now in its fourth year, the event will run from 4 to 8 November 2019.

The event will be moving to a bigger venue to accommodate a greater variety of programme, business events, exhibitors and attendees, after the success of the 2018 edition.

Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019 will be held near the Hong Kong International Airport in order to enable participants from across the world to locate it more easily and to grow the attending audience.

The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK stated that the new location reflects the dramatic growth of Hong Kong Fintech Week. Last year’s Hong Kong Fintech Week saw more than 8,000 attendees and had a much bigger room to grow to accommodate the increasing number of activities and exhibitors.

The expansion couldn’t come at a better time! With the recent announcement by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) regarding the virtual banking licences awarded to three companies in the region, the new virtual banks are expected to take 6-9 months to launch their initial banking services.

This means that the Hong Kong FinTech Week will be perfectly timed for the firms to showcase their services. By then, it is also likely that the HKMA will have issued more such licenses given that it said it’s processing five more applications.

In addition, the Open Application Programming Interface (API) Framework for the Hong Kong banking sector has taken effect this year. The Open APIs involve around 130 sets of information covering all financial data and important information.

Together with over 650 new datasets which will be released in 2019 by other government bureaux and departments, these encourage more parties to provide innovative and integrated solutions.

The new developments this year follow last year’s launch of the Faster Payment System, the Hong Kong Common QR Code and trade finance blockchain, all of which contribute towards Hong Kong’s appeal as a launchpad for fintech companies in Asia.

InvestHK’s recent study found that there are over 550 fintech companies in Hong Kong, with 52% having founders from overseas – the remainder is from Hong Kong or Mainland China. The companies see Hong Kong as a regional base for business expansion, both globally (61%) and in Greater China (28%).

Business in Hong Kong is market-driven. The vibrant ecosystem grows organically and the region is welcoming of overseas FinTech companies. Moreover, Hong Kong’s FinTech ecosystem continues to mature; over half (51%) of the FinTech companies in the study are 3-4 years old at least.

More broadly, Hong Kong will continue to attract and retain leading overseas and Mainland companies, as well as entrepreneurs, from around the globe.

According to the latest joint survey conducted by InvestHK and the Census and Statistics Department, the number of overseas and Mainland companies setting up business in Hong Kong in 2018 rose 6.4% year-on-year to 8,754. The number of overseas and Mainland companies using Hong Kong as their regional headquarters rose by 8.3% to 1,530, which is also noteworthy.

These moves and decisions made by the government and leaders in the region help to explain the appeal of Hong Kong FinTech Week, which has been historically effective at connecting the East and the West.

In 2018, it had a record number of attendees from more than 50 economies. Over 260 speakers shared their vision, including top executives from major e-commerce firms, telecommunication companies, software firms, virtual banks, app designers, insurance firms, and payment companies and so many more.

The 2018 FinTech Week had over 100 exhibitors, 60 start-ups and 1,000-plus business matching meetings, plus the innovation lab tours and the involvement of universities. Regulators and companies also shared breaking announcements which facilitate the fintech development.

Moreover, last year’s cross-border event to Shenzhen looked closely at the collaboration between Hong Kong and the other cities in the Greater Bay Area.

With the 2019 event expected to be even bigger, there is no limit to what can be achieved via the connections that will be established as a result.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

As a Titanium Black Partner of Dell Technologies, CTC Global Singapore boasts unparalleled access to resources.

Established in 1972, we bring 52 years of experience to the table, solidifying our position as a leading IT solutions provider in Singapore. With over 300 qualified IT professionals, we are dedicated to delivering integrated solutions that empower your organization in key areas such as Automation & AI, Cyber Security, App Modernization & Data Analytics, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Renowned for our consulting expertise and delivering expert IT solutions, CTC Global Singapore has become the preferred IT outsourcing partner for businesses across Singapore.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,800 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. For more information, visit www.ibm.com