FinTech Australia formalises ties with Hong Kong
Australia's national fintech association has signed a memorandum of understanding with the FinTech Association of Hong Kong.
The national industry association for Australia's fintech industry, FinTech Australia, has officially strengthened ties with its counterpart in Hong Kong. The FinTech Association of Hong Kong and FinTech Australia signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen the existing ties between the two industries and better support businesses looking for opportunities in both markets.
The partnership is not dissimilar to the fintech cooperation agreement between the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced in June 2017. ASIC has made several fintech agreements with key partners such as Kenya, Japan, Abu Dhabi, the UK and Ontario.
FinTech Australia and the FinTech Association of Hong Kong plan to focus on building industry-to-industry ties by supporting business seeking investments, partnerships and/or entry into each other's markets; increase investment by VCs into companies into each other's markets; facilitate connections to banks and insurance firms; encourage regulatory harmonisation through an open dialogue of policy developments; and collaborate on research and other initiatives for an understanding of both markets.
“Hong Kong and Australia have highly complementary fintech industries, each with growing Blockchain, RegTech, Data/AI and Cyber Security capabilities," said the CEO of FinTech Australia Danielle Szetho.
"This agreement will build on our strong ongoing relationship as we support each other in helping local participants in both markets. We look forward to working together to ensure the continued success of fintech.”
Interim General Manager of FTAHK said partnerships such as this are critical to ensuring the success of the global fintech industry.
"The ties between Hong Kong and Australia have historically always been strong and we look forward to improving them still further," he said.
