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Fintech
BusinessBanking & Finance

Arta TechFin looks to blockchain finance after restructuring overseen by New World Development scion Adrian Cheng

  • Arta TechFin, which completed a restructuring last year after a white knight rescue, plans to pivot to blockchain-backed financial services
  • Under a new management team, Arta TechFin plans to seek approval from SFC to expand the scope of its licensed activities

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Eddie Lau, CEO of Arta TechFin, says the company plans to expand to provide crypto services to its clients. Photo: Handout
Georgina Lee
Arta TechFin, the successor of troubled Hong Kong-listed brokerage Freeman Fintech rescued in 2020 by New World Development chief executive Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, wants to reposition itself as a “hybrid finance” player.

The company is currently rebuilding its businesses targeting family offices, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), and retail clients, chief executive Eddie Lau said.

“We see an opportunity for us to combine virtual asset servicing with traditional financial services,” he added. “Very few traditional brokers and banks have expanded into crypto assets.”

For compliance reasons, many banks in Hong Kong have withheld services to clients dealing in cryptocurrencies. This contrasts with other markets, such as Singapore, where DBS – the largest banking group in Southeast Asia by asset – launched a crypto exchange for institutional clients in 2021, with plans to expand trading service to retail clients this year.

Before the white knight rescue in 2020, Freeman Fintech was involved in securities, futures and insurance brokerage. Arta TechFin inherited a host of Freeman’s licences, which would enable the new firm to engage in a number of regulated activities, such as securities dealing, asset management, and lending.

Under the virtual asset service provider regulatory framework proposed by the Hong Kong government, all platforms providing crypto asset trading services must be licensed. Failure to do so would result in penalties, such as imprisonment.

Arta TechFin plans to seek approval from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to expand the scope of its licensed activities to cover virtual assets.

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