TOPIC

/ company

WeLab

WeLab is a financial technology (fintech) company headquartered in Hong Kong that operates one of Hong Kong's first virtual banks and a mobile lending platform in China.

Chairman / President

Chan Ka Keung Ceajer

CEO / Managing Director

Lee Ka Tat

CFO / Finance Director

Donald Jeffrey Roberts

Industry

Financial Services

Website

welab.co

Headquarters address

Room 2205-12, 22/F, K11 Atelier King's Road, 728 King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong

Year founded

2013

A pedestrian in front of a currency mural on a shop’s gate in Hong Kong on 26 December 2024. Photo: Antony Dickson

Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s digital banks seek post-Covid growth in wealth management

Hong Kong’s digital banks plan to expand wealth management businesses as deposits and loans surge.

5 May 2025 - 2:13PM

Banking & finance

HKIC backs fintech unicorn WeLab to bring Hong Kong start-ups to Southeast Asia

10 Apr 2025 - 8:08PM

Banking & finance

Trade tensions to benefit Hong Kong as IPO hub, trade gateway, Paul Chan says

10 Apr 2025 - 5:32PMvideocam

Banking & finance

Hong Kong will not have any more new virtual banks, 8 are enough, says HKMA

The HKMA considers that the current number of virtual banking licences is optimal and does not see any strong justification to introduce more new virtual bank players, CEO Eddie Yue says.

7 Aug 2024 - 8:00AM

The HKMA issued eight virtual bank licences in 2019 to inject innovation and competition into the industry. Photo: Reuters

Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s WeLab eyes setting up digital banks, selling tech in Southeast Asia

The fintech unicorn backed by billionaire Li Ka-shing is looking at setting up digital banks across Southeast Asia and providing its technology services to conglomerates in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.

20 Jun 2024 - 3:42PMvideocam

Banking & finance

Hong Kong virtual banks ‘likely to develop as big players’ even after 2022 losses

All eight of Hong Kong’s virtual banks are still making a loss, but six of them narrowed their net losses last year following growth in loans and an expansion in new businesses.

30 Apr 2023 - 6:00PM

Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s Asia-topping mobile bank apps lag Western peers

However, Hong Kong’s lenders are lagging behind peers in Europe, Britain, and Canada, according to the survey by a Paris-based management consultancy exclusively previewed by the Post.

18 Nov 2021 - 5:23PMvideocam

The report by Sia Partners examined 114 mobile banking apps worldwide, with each getting a score from 0 to 20. Photo: Shutterstock

European cinema

How ‘About Time’ taught a stressed fintech company founder to worry less

Simon Loong, founder and group CEO of Hong Kong-based WeLab, got a new perspective on life after watching the 2013 film.

21 Sep 2021 - 10:52AM

Banking & finance

Hong Kong’s virtual banks mull push into wealth management

Insurance and investment products are the ‘next phase’ for the city’s newest lenders, according to ZA Bank’s chief executive Rockson Hsu

7 Oct 2020 - 10:49PMvideocam

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Battle heats up between virtual banks and traditional players in Hong Kong

Battleground shifts as coronavirus pandemic has saddled traditional lenders with bad debts while encouraging more people to switch to banking online.

1 Oct 2020 - 10:03PM

Fintech

WeLab draws new battle line in price war with Hong Kong’s bellwether banks

Here comes another HSBC challenger. Digital lender WeLab opens for business with a 4.5 per cent interest rate for deposits from as low as HK$10, and a time-limited 8 per cent rebate on card spending.

30 Jul 2020 - 10:39PM

WeLab Bank, a virtual bank operates online without any physical branch. Photo: WeLab Bank Facebook

Banking & finance

Hong Kong government’s cash handout sparks war for customers among banks

Old stalwarts like HSBC and Standard Chartered, and new virtual banks offer cash prizes and high interest rates in a fierce battle to attract customers opening accounts to receive their HK$10,000 payout.

14 Jun 2020 - 11:12PMvideocam

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

HKMA to co-pay new hires in banking sector to support Class of 2020

HKMA unveils a US$1.4 million wage subsidy programme to spur hiring in financial sector for Class of 2020 graduates amid a bleak job market outlook.

4 Jun 2020 - 11:15PMvideocam

Banking & finance

Five of Hong Kong’s virtual banks miss target launch date

Five virtual banks miss the HKMA’s target launch date as coronavirus drags on operations. The delay gives the city’s incumbent banks have more time to buffer themselves against disruption.

9 Apr 2020 - 10:56PM

Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus puts Hong Kong’s online channels on trial as transactions surge

Banks, insurers and a lending platform in Hong Kong are seeing a surge in online transactions as the biggest health scare since 2003 puts the city’s readiness on trial.

16 Feb 2020 - 10:09PMvideocam

The coronavirus outbreak has rendered face-to-face interactions to the minimum as customers opt for more online transactions. Photo: AP

Fintech

Boom in virtual banks demand a new crop of IT-savvy professionals

The race for talent is heating up, as eight banking licenses awarded by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) must commence operations in the coming months, while 21 technology companies are bidding for five digital bank licenses in Singapore.

9 Jan 2020 - 8:15AM

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

WeLab first stand-alone fintech to get virtual bank licence

Chan Ka-keung, former Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, will become the chairman of WeLab Digital, which is likely to become operational in the next six to nine months.

25 Nov 2019 - 11:01AMvideocam

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Ex-Hong Kong minister to join virtual bank as chairman

25 Nov 2019 - 11:01AM

Chan Ka-keung, Hong Kong’s former Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, says he is ‘confident about the future’ of WeLab. Photo: Nora Tam

Fintech

WeLab joins race to become Hong Kong’s first licensed virtual bank

25 Nov 2019 - 11:01AM

Fintech

Hong Kong fintech firm WeLab raises US$220m in funding round

25 Nov 2019 - 11:01AM

New | WeLab raises 1 bn yuan in push to expand micro lending to China’s rural communities

25 Nov 2019 - 11:01AM

Interview of Simon Loong Pui-chi, CEO and Founder of WeLab Limited, in Sheung Wan. 27FEB14

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