Hong Kong 'ideally placed' to become fintech start-up hub: experts

Hong Kong’s position as a major financial centre with a large talent pool makes it well placed to become a centre for financial technology start-ups, according to industry players.

Government body InvestHK said financial technology, or "fintech", start-ups are fast becoming an important part of the city’s start-up scene and provide an opportunity to catch up with Silicon Valley and London’s Silicon Roundabout.

“One of the areas where we see real potential for Hong Kong to emerge as an innovative hub is in fintech because we are a major financial services centre, we’ve got a significant percentage of our GDP coming from financial services directly and indirectly,” said Simon Galpin, director-general of investment promotion for Invest HK.

Fintech companies offer services providing an alternative to traditional banking offerings such as small business lending to data analytics and software designed for investment banks.

Since 2010, InvestHK has helped 33 overseas fintech businesses to build their projects in Hong Kong and is currently assisting 38 firms in establishing themselves in the local market.

As the number of start-ups in the city has grown, two accelerators have been launched to help fintech companies to find their feet.

Last autumn, management consultancy firm Accenture picked Hong Kong to host its first 12-week fintech accelerator in Asia and recently closed applications for the programme’s second year in the city.