Interview with Liang Hanjing of InvestHK: Building a Diversified International Financial Technology Center

As the third established financial center in the world, according to the report of Global Financial Center Index jointly released by Z/Yen and China Comprehensive Development Research Institute, Hong Kong has ranked among the top ten (ranked ninth) in the field of financial technology. At present, there are more than 1,100 financial technology enterprises in Hong Kong, covering many fields, including digital assets and blockchain applications; Wealth technology; And payment and remittance. Among them, the fastest growing sub-sectors in 2023-2024 are digital assets and blockchain applications, green financial technology, and financial technology network security.

Thanks to its unique urban positioning and ecosystem, Hong Kong's role as a "super-connected person" and a "super-value-added person" can provide high value-added functions for enterprises in the Mainland and the world, and Invest Hong Kong (hereinafter referred to as Invest Hong Kong) is an important force in this link, providing a good development environment for financial technology enterprises and innovations coming to Hong Kong, enabling the industry to continue to develop, raise funds and train talents.

A few days ago, Wall Street interviewed Liang Hanjing, Global President of Financial Services, Technology and Sustainable Development of InvestHK, and had an in-depth dialogue and discussion on the strategy and process of building a diversified international financial technology center in Hong Kong. As a veteran of the financial technology industry, Mr. Liang previously engaged in strategic management consulting in the United States and the United Kingdom. He once devoted himself to the venture capital industry and founded a financial technology company. In May 2019, he joined the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency to promote the development of the financial technology circle in Hong Kong.

Urban orientation of international financial technology center

Thanks to the efforts of several generations, Hong Kong ranks third in the world as a global financial center city and ranks first in the Asia-Pacific region. The report "Global Financial Center Index" also clearly affirmed Hong Kong's position and strength as one of the top ten financial technology centers in the world.

Liang Hanjing said that in addition to local financial technology enterprises and the introduction of overseas financial technology, in the past few years, many outstanding enterprises in the Mainland have used Hong Kong as their international headquarters. It has gathered innovative forces from the East and the West, which is one of the reasons why Hong Kong has continuously improved its ranking as a financial technology city in the past few years.

On the other hand, there is support from the government, including the Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Insurance Regulatory Bureau (IA) and other government departments, including InvestHK, Cyberport and Science Park. These supports are not only at the policy level, but also include subsidy plans and talent plans to promote the introduction of financial technology enterprises such as large-scale institutions.

An increasingly diversified ecosystem

In 2024, financial technology companies in Hong Kong come from different industries, including wealth technology, digital assets and blockchain applications, payment and remittance, financial technology enterprise solutions, green financial technology, insurance technology, private investment in financial technology, compliance and supervision technology and others.

Liang Wei said that in the past two years, the Hong Kong government has embraced the development of blockchain. At present, the financial technology related to blockchain has surpassed the largest segments in the past few years, such as wealth technology and payment. The Hong Kong Financial Technology Week in October this year attracted more than 37,000 participants from more than 100 economies around the world, including more different categories than before, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital assets, compliance technology and so on. Today, Hong Kong's financial technology ecosystem is richer and more diverse.

Empowering financial technology companies to land

For enterprises, Invest Hong Kong still plays the role of linking and empowering. As a department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, InvestHK is dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment in Hong Kong. The financial technology team, led by Liang Hanjing, aims to attract top innovative financial technology enterprises, start-ups, investors and other stakeholders from all over the world to set up business in Hong Kong, or expand their business to mainland China, Asia and other regions through Hong Kong.

Liang Hanjing said that many outstanding mainland enterprises have explored the potential of the international market from Hong Kong. For example, this year, InvestHK went on business trips to the Middle East, Switzerland, Southeast Asia and other regions to promote outstanding financial technology enterprises in the Mainland. For the landing of these enterprises, the Hong Kong government will also provide support including resource docking, customer referral and talent referral.

Emerging financial science and technology innovation

In August 2024, the HKMA launched the Ensemble project sandbox, focusing on four themes to promote the application of tokenization: fixed income and investment funds, liquidity management, green and sustainable finance, and trade and supply chain finance. This milestone marks an important step in the practical application of token technology in the financial industry. During the 2024 Hong Kong Financial Technology Week, the HKMA announced that it has established new cross-border partnerships with the Central Bank of Brazil and the Central Bank of Thailand, and will explore cross-border token use cases under the Ensemble project.

For example, token innovation in supply chain finance can help small and medium-sized suppliers solve the financing problem. Liang Wei emphasized that the innovation of financial technology in Hong Kong is not to speculate on bubbles, but ultimately to empower and help the real economy.

Risk warning and exemption clause

The market is risky and investment needs to be cautious. This paper does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account the special investment objectives, financial situation or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, viewpoints or conclusions in this article are in line with their specific situation. Invest accordingly at your own risk.