Hong Kong, Oct. 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HONG KONG, 31 October 2019 – Hong Kong Cyberport (Cyberport) successfully organised a Fintech delegation of 15 Hong Kong Fintech start-ups and companies from the Cyberport community, led by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, to visit London from 28 to 31 October to bolster collaboration between the two economies in promoting financial innovation.
The delegation includes start-ups in the fields of RegTech, blockchain, wealth management technology, cross-border payments, and artificial intelligence. The mission aims at forging connections amongst stakeholders in the global Fintech landscape, with a view of fostering collaboration and developing business and investment opportunities.
The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, said, “It is my great pleasure to bring a delegation of Fintech start-ups from Hong Kong to London. We entered into a Fintech Bridge Agreement with the UK Government in September 2017 to foster collaboration between the two economies in promoting financial innovation. With an increasingly vibrant Fintech ecosystem, we hope to see Hong Kong's home-grown Fintech firms flourish and expand their footprint to other Fintech hubs. I hope the visit of our delegation to the UK this time will help drive a stronger flow of Fintech entrepreneurs and companies of both places across the bridge in the future.”
Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport, said, ‘‘Cyberport is pleased to organise a Fintech delegation to the UK once again after its fruitful visit in 2017. The delegation exemplifies the strong connection between the two major Fintech ecosystems and provides an opportunity for Cyberport’s Fintech start-ups to demonstrate the innovative solutions they have on the global stage. Talent cultivation and development is one of our strategic focuses. We are committed to propelling start-ups towards global expansion and cultivating strong impetus to the economic growth of Hong Kong, as well as promoting Hong Kong’s role as the leading Fintech hub of Asia.’’
During the visit, the delegation first visited the Accenture Fintech Innovation Hub to learn about the latest Fintech trends in the UK including the local developments in virtual banking. They also visited Dun and Bradstreet, Level 39, Innovate Finance, KPMG and other renowned banks and met with a cohort of Fintech innovators, to gain an understanding on topics such as the role of data in accelerating London to be a global open banking hub, acquiring new funding from venture capital (VC) and the London Fintech VC landscape, as well as an overview of advantages and concerns when it comes to running a business in London and how to build connections with local firms for future landing. They also joined a roundtable event to network with key London Fintech stakeholders like the Department for International Trade (DIT) to promote Fintech opportunities in Hong Kong.
Calvin Cheng, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wizpresso Limited, said, “We are very grateful for being invited to join the FS delegation to London. As a start-up, it’s quite challenging for us to go international, especially when it comes to a more mature financial capital like UK. This delegation provides precious opportunities to meet with accelerators, VCs, potential partners, law firms and more. We hope the bonds we’ve formed during the trip will help us in expanding our business into the UK market.”
William Lam, Chief Executive Officer of iFinGate Limited, said “The trip to UK is very valuable, allowing us to meet with renowned enterprises and UK government officials, and gain a better understanding about its sophisticated FinTech ecosystem and elements that are worth drawing on. We are glad to share that we’ve successfully connected with different industry stakeholders and have scheduled meetings for potential partnerships next week. This could prove to be crucial for our business development.”
As Hong Kong’s premier Fintech hub, Cyberport presented the potential and strength of Hong Kong’s Fintech market against the backdrop of the Greater Bay Area development to the UK financial industry. Cyberport also invited UK Fintech firms to use Hong Kong as the perfect springboard for expanding into China and Asia markets and shared about Cyberport’s role in the development of Fintech in Hong Kong.
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About Cyberport
Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 1,400 start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent, promoting entrepreneurship among youth, supporting start-ups on their growth journey, fostering industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economies by accelerating digital transformation in the public and private sectors. For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk
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