Cyberport and Hong Kong Monetary Authority lead Hong Kong's largest FinTech Delegation to London

HONG KONG, Sept. 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong Cyberport (Cyberport) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) bring the largest FinTech delegation to London from 19 to 21 September to expand partnership network for FinTech industry players between the two cities. This is part of the annual ICT delegation co-organised by Cyberport and the Hong Kong Information Technology Joint Council.

The delegation comprises over 70 participants, including representatives from the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and The Information and Technology Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, the HKMA, banks, investors, professional bodies, and FinTech start ups from Cyberport. The mission aims at forging connections amongst stakeholders in the global FinTech landscape, with a view to fostering collaboration and developing business and investment opportunities, as well as promoting Hong Kong's role as the leading FinTech hub of Asia.

During the welcome dinner co-hosted with the City of London on 19 September (UK time), officials and leaders from FinTech and investment communities gathered to witness the signing ceremony of Cyberport's start-up, TNG FinTech Group and a UK company Tranglo to launch a local e-wallet in the UK, whereby expanding its "Global E-Wallet Alliance" to 14 countries, and establishing TNG as a cross-continent e-payment platform. The party also witnessed the announcement of another Cyberport start-up, Institute of Financial Technologists for the launch of its FinTech certification programme aiming to nurture more talents for the growth of the FinTech industry.

Dr Lee George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport, said, "We are pleased to co-organise this FinTech delegation with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and glad to have the support from the government and various strategic partners. This is a strong demonstration of the digital tech ecosystem that Cyberport aims to build. We are committed to propelling our start ups like TNG towards global expansion, enabling Institute of Financial Technologists to equip our talents with the professional skills to transform the financial industry and adding strong impetus to the economic growth of Hong Kong. Through this mission, we will foster relationships with outstanding UK FinTech companies and investors and invite them to use Hong Kong as their base for expanding into Asia and the Belt and Road markets."

Mr James Lau, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said, "Hong Kong is set to embrace innovation and technology, FinTech alike, making it a policy priority for building an even stronger economy, a more liveable city. With Hong Kong's rule of law, simple and low taxation system, world-class infrastructure, free flow of information and robust regulatory systems that have reinforced our position as an international financial centre, we are offering an enabling environment for FinTech to develop. Networking and fusion of ideas are particularly important to innovation industries including FinTech, and I am delighted to take part in the delegation to see strengthened collaboration on all fronts for business growth and investment opportunities."

Mr Shu-pui Li, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the HKMA, said, "The HKMA is glad to co-organise with Cyberport this mission to London to promote Hong Kong as the ideal location for FinTech opportunities. As a premier international financial centre, Hong Kong has all the pre-requisites to be a FinTech hub given its efficient and reliable financial market infrastructure, the banking and fund management hub status, and the robust regulatory and legal frameworks. Against this backdrop, Hong Kong is capable of providing a favourable environment for financial institutions, payment service providers and FinTech firms to facilitate innovative technological developments. In addition, its proximity to, knowledge on and the existing connection with the huge Mainland China market make Hong Kong a perfect springboard for FinTech firms to capture the promising FinTech prospect. The HKMA believes that Hong Kong has all the right ingredients for overseas FinTech firms, especially those from the UK, to take root and flourish."

The delegation will visit the Accenture FinTech Innovation Lab London today (UK time), meet with innovative UK FinTech companies, as well as learn from senior executives from the banking sector on how banks are transforming the financial industry landscape through the application of FinTech.

Cyberport will also moderate a thematic session on FinTech at the Think Asia Think Hong Kong Symposium organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on 21 September (UK time).

About Cyberport

Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 900 digital tech companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government.  With the vision to become a main force in developing the digital tech industry as a key economic driver of Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing youth, start-ups and entrepreneurs to grow in the digital industry through the incubation programme and connecting them to strategic partners and investors, driving collaboration with local and international business partners to create new opportunities, and accelerating digital adoption amongst SME and corporates. 

Cyberport focuses on building key clusters of digital technology, namely FinTech, eCommerce, IoT/Wearables and Big Data/AI to foster the development of Hong Kong into a "Smart City"; amongst which, the FinTech cluster has grown into a strong community of over 200 companies.

With a committed team of professionals providing all rounded value added services to support our digital community and an array of state-of-the-art tech facilities, Cyberport is the flagship for Hong Kong's digital tech industry.

For more information, please visit http://www.cyberport.hk

About the HKMA

The HKMA is the government authority in Hong Kong responsible for maintaining monetary and banking stability. It was established in April 1993 by merging the Office of the Exchange Fund and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking.

The HKMA's policy objectives are:

• to maintain currency stability within the framework of the Linked Exchange Rate System;
• to promote the stability and integrity of the financial system, including the banking system;
• to help maintain Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, including the maintenance and development of Hong Kong's financial infrastructure; and
• to manage the Exchange Fund.

For press enquiries, please contact:

Hong Kong Cyberport
Elsa Lee
T: +852 3166 3829
E: elsalee@cyberport.hk

Joey Chan
T: +44(0)7475606358 / +852 3166 3613
E: joeychan@cyberport.hk

HKMA
Herbert Lam
T:  +852 2878 1802
E: commsunit@hkma.gov.hk