Opinion | Why New Zealand fintech companies have their sights set on Hong Kong
- As a small country and market by population, it is second nature for New Zealand businesses to explore and expand into new geographies
- Hong Kong’s world-class financial licensing and regulatory regimes have attracted many major financial institutions over the years
During the year of the Ox, global travel is likely to continue to be restricted and although vaccines offer an end in sight, it will take some time for normality to return. As such, some in the business community might be left wondering what this means for companies and expansion plans into international hubs such as Hong Kong.
The 2020 “hangover” will persist for at least the first half of the year. Yet I see this evaporating relatively quickly, certainly as far as New Zealand’s focus on Hong Kong is concerned.
Why? Because even during the worst of the pandemic, we were still seeing a huge interest from New Zealand’s top fintech start-ups looking to expand in Hong Kong.
In fact, despite the challenges of Covid-19, Hong Kong’s fintech sector proved to be an economic oasis, with companies continuing to hire and grow. Bucking the global trend, we’ve seen a thriving fintech sector – the launch of multiple virtual banks; the growth of virtual insurers such as Bowtie; the adoption of robo-advisers; and the public listing of fintech companies like Yeahka. Hong Kong’s fintech sector has indeed demonstrated its resilience.
Although a relatively small market, the city punches above its weight as one of the most productive for fintech companies looking to scale up. Home to over 600 fintech companies including three of KPMG’s FinTech 100, Hong Kong’s financial institutions have proven to be progressive in their adoption of technology.