Fintech – the next frontier for Hong Kong’s battle with Singapore?
With world-leader London compromised by Brexit, the Asian tigers sniff blood in the arena of financial technology
Perennial “frenemies” Singapore and Hong Kong have never shied away from an opportunity to slug it out – whether in the race to outdo each other as Asian hubs in finance, aviation or even street food.
Now with London – until recently the world’s undisputed fintech, or financial technology, capital – in a quagmire following the Brexit vote, that sector could well become the new frontier for the two Asian cities to do battle not only for regional domination, but global supremacy.
Total Asia-Pacific investment in fintech, a catch-all term used to refer to newly emerging digital technologies that make financial services more efficient, has risen from US$103 million in 2010 to US$4.3 billion in 2015, according to global consultancy firm Accenture.
The 2015 amount accounts for 19.3 per cent of global investment in the sector, second only to North America.
HKMA embraces FinTech as it burnishes Hong Kong’s brand to compete as Asia’s financial hub
Enthusiasm for fintech among Asian consumers, investors and merchants is among the highest in the world.
The uptake of innovation such as Blockchain – the mechanism behind cryptocurrency Bitcoin – as well as cutting-edge mobile payment, peer-to-peer money-transfer and stock trading apps rival the interest in blockbuster digital services like Netflix, Uber and Airbnb, company executives, officials and technology experts told This Week in Asia.
