Last year saw a surge in investment in Hong Kong based FinTech firms, with figures from Accenture showing that Hong Kong-based FinTech investment jumped to US$545.7 million in 2017 – up from US$215.5 million in 2016 and US$107.5 million in 2015. In fact Hong Kong received greater fundraising than both Singapore and Australia, and across a longer period of time, with the largest fundraising round going to WeLab, the mobile lending company, which raised US$220 million in November.
With this surge in popularity, fast growth Dutch based FinTech companies should not just look West to Silicon Valley for expansion opportunities. Hong Kong and Amsterdam are booming tech sectors with supportive policymakers.
At the beginning of March, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said over HK$50 billion ($6.4 billion) would go toward long-term tech and innovation push, as part of an unveiling of measures in his budget. Similarly the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is playing a crucial role in strengthening the FinTech ecosystem. Not only it is working closely with local innovators, it’s also collaborating with regulators from around the world and building on the global FinTech community.
In fact, in the latest World FinTech Report 2018 from Capgemini and Linkedin, the HKMA was applauded and singled out for praise for its efforts to accelerate growth of FinTech.
Hong Kong is a market that Dutch businesses can seamlessly expand to, while reaping the benefits of access to the world’s largest consumer market, China.
Last September Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has launched its SFC Regulatory Sandbox, to give an outlet for firms to trial solutions and innovative new ideas. Also the Hong Kong Insurance Authority its own regulatory Sandbox since September last year. Further information about all three regulatory Sandboxes in Hong Kong can be found here: www.sandboxes.hk
The Fintech team at InvestHK are looking forward to welcoming you in Hong Kong and help expanding your businesses. Hong Kong FinTech Week www.fintechweek.hk, the world’s first cross-border Fintech conference, could be an ideal platform to explore Hong Kong’s thriving Fintech ecosystem and network or even present your solution. Anyone interested in attending the conference can email Mr Thorsten Terweiden, Deputy Head of Fintech at InvestHK on thorsten_terweiden@hketolondon
By Thorsten Terweiden, Deputy Head of Fintech at InvestHK, read more on InvestHK on investhk.com or on Twitter.
