Jim Rogers-backed ITF to miss August deadline for virtual bank licence in Hong Kong

ITF, a fintech company backed by US veteran investor Jim Rogers, plans to apply for a virtual bank licence in Hong Kong, but will not rush to meet the first application deadline on August 31.

The fintech firm would prefer to wait for more details about regulations, according to its adviser Ignious Yong.

“We would like to wait for the HKMA to issue the first batch of licences so that we can study what type of business models or business lines would be more suitable for us to develop to get a virtual bank licence,” Yong said in a media briefing Friday.

Rogers, 75, is one of the initial investors in ITF, which was set up in October by Lim Hui Jie. Lim was formerly chief executive of the Australia-listed technology company Digimatic Group.

ITF focuses on providing technology for banks and other financial firms. It has about 1,000 corporate clients in the region, mainly in Hong Kong and Singapore. In June ITF completed its second round of financing, gaining new investor Victor Or, the son of former Hang Seng Bank chief executive Raymond Or Ching-fai.