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Hong Kong's fintech development is booming (see Hong Kong)

"There are currently more than 600 fintech startups operating in Hong Kong. From 2014 to 2018, the cumulative amount of funds raised in the fintech area exceeded 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, far exceeding Singapore and Australia." Chen Maobo, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region attended At the awards ceremony of the "Fintech Awards 2019", it was stated that with the joint efforts of the SAR Government and the I & T industry, Hong Kong's fintech is booming and strong.

Fintech brings convenience

Launched the "Fast Transfer" payment system, approved 8 virtual bank licenses, implemented the Open API framework of the banking industry, and promoted the "trade linkage" of the trade financing platform based on blockchain technology ... In recent years, Hong Kong Many efforts have been made to promote the development of fintech ecology.

As a milestone in the development of fintech in Hong Kong, the "Fast Transfer" fast payment system has been launched for just over a year, and the number of user registrations has reached nearly 3.9 million, with an average daily processing of more than 140,000 transactions, and the processing transaction volume has maintained nearly 10% per month. Growth rate.

Through "Fast Transfers", users can achieve real-time peer-to-peer, cross-bank transfers, and support cross-bank, cross-stored value payment tools, and support both Hong Kong dollars and Renminbi. It is currently the only electronic wallet in the world that supports dual currencies. Between 21 banks in Hong Kong and 10 stored-value payment instrument operators, there is no handling fee for using "Fast Transfer" transfers.

"Taking the frequent Hang Seng Bank as an example, if the local remittance and collection are made once a day, the handling fee will cost nearly 18,000 Hong Kong dollars a year, which is still a conservative estimate. Because of business needs, Mr. Wang, a Hong Kong citizen, said Frequent transfers have special needs. "In the past, bank cross-bank transfers generally took about 2 hours. Large transfers or remittances to new users also required registration at the bank counter." "Fast transfers" helped him save a lot of trouble, not only running The number of counters is less, and the processing fee saved by the transfer is also an “extra income”. Mr. Wang said, "Now Alipay and WeChat have been connected to" Fast Speed ​​", and after going to Shenzhen to purchase goods, you don't need to change cash in advance."

In addition to paying for individuals, the SAR government has also opened up channels for paying taxes, land rents, etc. through "fast transfers." Yu Weiwen, President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said that in the future, the promotion of merchants will be strengthened to provide an efficient payment channel for merchants, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, so that the application scenarios of "fast turnover" will be more diversified and more convenient for citizens and enterprises. .

Integrate in the Mainland and broaden the stage

"Hong Kong has been deeply integrated into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The development of the Greater Bay Area will become a further golden opportunity for Hong Kong's fintech industry." Speaking of the advantages and opportunities of the development of Hong Kong's fintech industry, Hong Kong Cyberport Chairman Lin Jiali will look at The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was approved.

As the home of fintech development in Hong Kong, Cyberport actively connects with the fintech ecological construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In 2017, the Cyberport, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government Financial Development Services Office signed a memorandum of understanding simultaneously, promising to strengthen cooperation with mainland fintech companies, and providing fintech companies with a “one-stop” in talent cultivation and technology exchange. stand by. At present, the Cyberport has become the largest fintech cluster in Hong Kong, providing development space and resources for 400 fintech companies.

The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, another innovation and technology centre owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government, has also embarked on the road of cooperation with the Mainland. "Hong Kong has the inherent advantage of developing fintech, but subject to the size of the local market, many fintech products have encountered many obstacles in expanding and strengthening after they are put on the market," said Huang Keqiang, chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. In 2019, his company and Tencent Computer System Co., Ltd., a leading Fintech company in Shenzhen, successfully "hand in hand" to achieve complementary advantages.

Tencent's strength lies in its technological strength and huge user base. Huang Keqiang said: "We combine these advantages with the park's innovation and technology ecosystem to help promote the implementation and promotion of various fintech innovations in more than 100 fintech companies and fostering companies in the park."

In addition, the Science Park and Tencent also jointly set up a talent development plan to encourage participants to share and learn knowledge and experience in technological innovation. Lei Huihong, a student at the University of Hong Kong, used this "Dongfeng" to come to Shenzhen Tenpay's Shenzhen Tenpay Payment Technology Co., Ltd. for an internship. In his view, the success of many Fintech products in the Mainland has benefited from advanced innovative ideas. He hopes to "incubate" these ideas into products in the fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong and promote them in the Greater Bay Area.

"The opportunities for Hong Kong's fintech community, especially young entrepreneurs and start-ups, are in the Greater Bay Area." Zhao Jingxian, chairman of the Investment Committee of the Hong Kong Smart City Alliance, expressed the hope that the industry can seize the development opportunities in the Greater Bay Area and join forces with practitioners in the region To promote the development of the financial technology industry.

Science and technology infrastructure is improving

Fintech has always been one of the priorities of the government's innovation policy. In recent years, the SAR Government, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other departments have launched a series of support policies from the aspects of landing promotion, standardized management, and talent reserve to escort the development of fintech ecology.

In early 2016, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority took the lead in setting up the FinTech Promotion Office to coordinate relevant departments to serve the development of the FinTech industry and promote FinTech products. The Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency also set up a fintech task force at the same time to provide assistance to more than 310 fintech companies and attract 19 fintech companies to settle in Hong Kong.

Facing the risks and challenges brought by the in-depth development of fintech, the HKMA has continuously strengthened its digital construction and launched a regulatory sandbox based on the "risk-based and technology-neutral" principle. Companies can test their innovative financial products, services, and business models in a “sandbox” space without meeting existing regulatory rules. Regulators use the “sandbox” to assess risks early and provide companies with policy guidance to find an appropriate balance between the innovative application of fintech and risk supervision.

In terms of talent reserves, the SAR government works closely with industry entities such as the Cyberport to provide more than 30 fintech related trainings to various industries. More than 1,500 practitioners have benefited from these trainings, and the quality of industry talents has gradually improved. A series of talent introduction and training programs such as the "Science and Technology Talent Entry Scheme" and "Researcher Scheme" have been launched one after the other, which has solved the urgent needs of fintech companies for high-end professional talents. At the same time, it has encouraged the exchange and interaction of talents between cities, and has created a fintech ecosystem for Hong Kong Construction continues to inject vitality.

In addition, in 2019, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority also implemented cooperation with the People's Bank of China Digital Currency Research Institute in the area of ​​blockchain, the operation of the Hong Kong Center of the "International Settlement Bank Innovation Hub", and the promotion of innovation and cooperation in "fintech" "Cooperation Platform" and other five major measures, Hong Kong's fintech ecological infrastructure has become increasingly perfect.

Yu Weiwen said, "The various measures of the SAR government in the field of fintech have successfully created a dynamic ecosystem for fintech." He called on all sectors to work together to give full play to their respective advantages and to promote the sustainable development of fintech in Hong Kong in all directions. Move forward and build a world-class fintech center.

Jin Chen