The Connector.
The Connector.
The Connector Podcast - DFS Digital Finance Summit - Hong Kong: The Fintech Launchpad For Europe
We explore how Hong Kong serves as a precise, high‑density launchpad for European fintechs, combining global finance access with practical, domain‑based regulation. Paula Kent and Fernando from Invest Hong Kong share tactics, sectors with pull, and concrete wins founders can model now.
• Hong Kong’s financial hub status and market density
• Differences between the EU scale and the Hong Kong focus
• Domain‑based regulation for virtual assets and stablecoins
• Common law familiarity and clear licensing scope
• Follow‑the‑customer entry strategy for faster wins
• Accelerators, events, and investor access in the city
• Cross‑border capital flows via Stock, Bond, and Wealth Connect
• High‑opportunity areas: payments, crypto, e‑commerce, insurtech
• Science Park links to the Greater Bay Area for trials
• Case studies: DePAM asset management, Fineos, CurrencyFair
• Near‑term trends and how to reach Invest Hong Kong
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Koen Vanderhoydonk
koen.vanderhoydonk@jointheconnector.com
#FinTech #RegTech #Scaleup #WealthTech
Welcome to the Connector Podcast, an ongoing conversation connecting fintech to fans and regulators worldwide. Join CEO and founder Owen van der Hoydong as you learn more about the latest available trends and solutions in the market.
SPEAKER_01:We have the pleasure to do many podcasts live from this amazing event. And now I've got Invest Hong Kong with me. Paula and Fernando. Can you just introduce yourselves?
SPEAKER_03:Hi, Kun. Thank you. I'm uh Paula Kent. I'm the head of um InvestHong Kong Brussels team, and we help European companies go to Hong Kong.
SPEAKER_02:And I'm Fernando, I'm the deputy head of InvestHong Kong, and I work together with Paula facilitating the landing of foreign companies into the Hong Kong market.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so I already mentioned we're at a FinTech event. You guys from Invest Hong Kong. So what brings that two together? FinTech and Hong Kong. Why do companies need to go to Hong Kong?
SPEAKER_02:Well, uh, we truly believe Hong Kong is the place to go for fintechs in Asia. Uh, first of all, because it's the main financial hub there. So everybody's there. 71 out of the top 100 top banks are in Hong Kong, they have branches in Hong Kong. Um, six out of the top insurers are there. There are like 157 insurer uh licenses for insurance companies in Hong Kong, and actually, financial services represent 25% of Hong Kong GDP. So there are a lot of business opportunities for any European fintech that is looking to do something in Asia.
SPEAKER_01:And I'm always wondering what is the difference between the European ecosystem versus the Hong Kong FinTech ecosystem?
SPEAKER_03:Well, um I would say that uh Hong Kong is it's it's one city, right? But it's global financial center number three, so it's all very condense. It's very easy to quickly meet all kinds of potential clients. So in that sense, Hong Kong is almost more comparable to London as a global financial center number two, right? The EU obviously everything is more spread out because you have 27 countries that yes, fall under under the one EU legislation, but still you have 27 markets and almost as many languages to work in. So, in that sense, um both ecosystems are quite different, but still, with the international focus that also European companies have, they can land very successfully in Hong Kong.
SPEAKER_01:It's funny that you mentioned European is in a single market uh from a regulatory point of view. Um, how does Hong Kong look at regulations and how would they look at maybe European regulations?
SPEAKER_03:I would say, since um, like Fernando said before, since financial services and fintech is such a big part of GDP, 25%, it means that Hong Kong wants to stay on top of its game and they need all the fintechs they can get, right? Hong Kong born and bred as well as international. And what they've done in Hong Kong is that they regulate um area by area. They've started in June 2023 with um uh a regulatory framework for virtual asset trading platforms.
SPEAKER_01:I think one of the first.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and with currently 11 licensed companies, then came a number of initiatives with sandboxes, uh Cyberport, and uh tokenization, and now recent, very interesting, I think, um, is the stablecoin uh licensing regime um launched in August 2025. We've seen a lot of interest, no licensees so far. Uh, but that is also to be expected, right? It's a uh it's a step-by-step process and uh it's an admission process, I can imagine. And what the Hong Kong government wants, yes, they want to stimulate the innovation, but they will at the same time to protect the consumer, right? So it's balancing these two uh these two areas, and we see there are uh a lot of people, let's say, who have started the process for the stablecoin, but uh nobody has received a license as yet.
SPEAKER_02:And one remark is that uh Hong Kong is a completely independent jurisdiction from China mainland, so the regulation is independent and is more is closer to what you can find in uh common law countries because of the um the history of Hong Kong, right? So, in that sense, if you get a license in Hong Kong, it's to operate in Hong Kong, yeah, not to go to mainland China.
SPEAKER_03:And what what we see with the stablecoin regulation is very much focused on fiat referenced stable coins. So the Hong Kong regulation aims uh stable coins to be either uh tied to the Hong Kong dollar, to the US dollar, or to the Remin B, right? The the focus is that.
SPEAKER_01:Well, Fernando, you mentioned that um it's common law, and I think that's one of the reasons why a lot of European companies uh see Hong Kong as the gateway to Asia. What would be your feedback on that?
SPEAKER_02:Well, I would say that for Europeans that uh plan to scale uh in Asia and to use Hong Kong as a land spad to develop their business there, we always recommend them to follow the uh to to um follow the customer, you know. So the principle of follow the customer. So they are already working with banks and with financial service companies in Europe. So we always suggest them to talk to their existing customers, uh check if they have already a branch in Hong Kong and try to uh expand their their collaboration to Asia. So the most successful cases we have seen is when those companies are have already like business relationships here and they they follow them to Hong Kong.
SPEAKER_03:And and one addition to that is that uh we've also seen FinTechs make very good use of uh accelerator programs in Hong Kong. So that uh if you enter into an accelerator program, obviously the the organization that runs the program wants the alumni to do well. And it's often a way to meet investors and to really be in the picture, also to find uh partners maybe in mainland China. So, like Fernando said, follow the customer or uh uh try and enter into an acceleration program or participate in competitions, also a great way to put yourself on stage.
SPEAKER_01:That makes sense. Um I'm thinking I'm a regular visitor of the Hong Kong FinTech week, so I'm thinking about Edo, the the Dutch guy who was night analytics, yes. Yeah, so he was on the launch pad, and on the same day, I think he signed a couple of deals uh being in Hong Kong. So his his journey started literally on the spot in one of these events, yeah, correct. Um well, talking about innovation and sort of concrete things, um, there is cross-border payments and financial connectivity, which are both evolving quickly. Um, Hong Kong being in the middle of that. Uh, what is the sort of opinion that they take and how do they actually look at this?
SPEAKER_03:Well, if we look cross-border and we take that Hong Kong mainland China, right? We see that a lot has been happening to make those connections easier. It started with uh Stock Connect, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, then came bond connect. Now there's wealth connect, which actually means that investors, private investors, consumers from the Greater Bay Area, nine uh cities in the Chinese mainland, can invest directly in funds in in Hong Kong and Macau, but mostly that is Hong Kong, and also the other way around. So there is uh a continuing step by step, prudent, uh, very much uh looking every time. This is the plan we are rolling out. Does it work well? If it works well, we scale it up, right? But definitely to make that to make that easier. And what we see a lot is that um mainland Chinese money comes to Hong Kong to then go international and to make use of that enormous expertise in Hong Kong, also uh mentioned by Fernando. So many professionals who can who can help uh uh invest well and uh let the money not just stay the same but grow.
SPEAKER_01:I guess many people are jealous about the job that you both have because you meet so many new inspiring startups, not only in finance but multi-vertical. So, what are for you like early signs that you think these companies they need to go, they're ready for expansion in Asia and in Hong Kong?
SPEAKER_02:Well, I think uh normally if the founder uh has already been in Hong Kong, visiting it because it's something you need to experience yourself and go to one of these events we were mentioning, or they were working in the past in AC in Asia, in China, in Hong Kong, that definitely helps to open some doors there and to understand what's the business culture uh in Hong Kong. And then uh again, there are certain sectors that uh offer more opportunities. Payments is definitely one of them. Anything related to cryptocurrencies, to blockchain technology, those are um sectors that are now growing very fast in Hong Kong and uh where you can really find opportunities, and also everything since Kun also was talking about other sectors, everything around e-commerce.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, definitely, yes uh trading, sourcing offices, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Also related to cross payments, anything that has to do with e-commerce. We have the example, for example, of uh an Irish company called Currency Fair. We helped them to set up in Hong Kong four or five years ago, and they're a payment company. Um they made a deal with uh Chinese uh business-to-business marketplace that helped them, they had already the branch in Hong Kong that helped them to develop the the Chinese market and to use their payment software in China so you can see that payments and anything related to e-commerce is is big there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's a lot of people, also, right? But talking a bit about people, um, how would you describe the innovation culture of uh local Hong Kong people?
SPEAKER_03:I think the focus that we see that it's um in Hong Kong and where there's a lot of business opportunities is the classic pillar sectors of Hong Kong plus tech. So financial services, fintech, right? Um trading, uh, all the tech for e-commerce and trading, business and professional services, all the type of tech if for accounting, for law firms, and uh lastly tourism, even in that area. So every innovations, first and foremost, to strengthen the existing pillars in the Hong Kong economy, then there's a growing wish to attract innovation and technology companies. We see there is a bit of a hesitation from Europe because the cutting-edge tech sometimes is hesitant because they risk losing uh their IP in uh in China. Uh exceptions to that are biotech and to some extent green tech, clean tech. And um, we're now talking, Fernando was talking to a Spanish company that is gonna make use of the fact that um there's a new science and technology park in Hong Kong shared between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and they have what was it again, the um the Association for Clinical Trials, right? Yeah, so if you can do clinical trials in Hong Kong and the GBA, maybe you can can say a bit more about that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, basically in this uh new science park that is being developed in the border between Central and Hong Kong. So there are a number of tools to access what we mentioned, the Great A Bay Area, right? So all these cities in China mainland, and for clinical trials, you can start in the science park and then uh develop them in those cities in the GBA. So yeah, it facilitates a lot the access to the Chinese mainland market.
SPEAKER_01:We're heading towards the end of this uh podcast. So what I really like to hear is like one big success story. Is there anyone that you can share? Uh, there's a few that already came to the table, but what is the example that you can bring to the table?
SPEAKER_03:Across sectors. Or you want us to talk fintech financial services?
SPEAKER_01:Up to you.
SPEAKER_03:Well, one big one that I still very much like is uh the Grove Pektecom asset management. So in the sector, uh, a Belgian, a Belgian key player, joint venture with Offie from France. They opened an asset management company in Hong Kong in full COVID, and they're now 18 people. And what was very interesting, and I like that example for that reason, is that um the uh the DePam people already hired Chinese analysts to learn how they want to do business here in Brussels, and then they were already hired for that Hong Kong team. So I think it's a beautiful example. Not only is it the European G JV, right? But also one that made very smart use of European staff, Hong Kong staff, and mainland Chinese staff to offer that asset management service in Hong Kong close to where the companies they invest in in Asia. Maybe Fernando has another cool example. I'm sure he has. Well, I have a number of companies, especially.
SPEAKER_02:So you mentioned already um uh currency fair, but another Irish fintech uh was Fineos in the insur tech um subsector, let's say, and they open a commercial office, they follow their customer from Europe, so we were very happy that they uh took our suggestion and they opened a commercial office there. And as I was saying, there at that time I think Hong Kong was issuing four virtual uh insurance licenses, so they found it was the right timing for them to set up, and and they were able to sell their solution to to these new uh digital insurance companies that were starting their operations in Hong Kong.
SPEAKER_01:Well, amazing stories. Um, what rest me to ask you is two things. What are you actually looking? What will actually happen in the next couple of years ahead? And how will how can people contact you?
SPEAKER_03:Well, uh people can contact us by either asking you, Kun, for our phone numbers, but we also have a really website. Um what I see happening still at this moment, many markets in Asia are growing faster than in Europe. So I think every Belgian European company needs to have an Asia plan. So go check it out. Um, not every product or service is what we call uh Chinable, right? Uh or Hong Kongable. Um but go check it out. You know, it's uh the fastest growing part of the world. Uh check it out. Go to Hong Kong FinTech Week, go to the Start Me Up Hong Kong Festival, call us, and we can help you when you make a trip to Hong Kong and you attend any other event. We can help you get other appointments. We have nine super sector teams in Hong Kong. Am I forgetting something, Fernando?
SPEAKER_02:Well, at some trend that we are seeing more and more is uh Chinese capital. Well, Chinese Capital has been always using Hong Kong to uh scout for startups abroad and to they set up their international offices in Hong Kong to go abroad. But now, with all the geopolitical tensions with the US, uh Chinese companies are really pushing to get in touch with more potential partners in Europe and they use Hong Kong to do so. So it's a place to connect with them, definitely. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, I would say that that's a very nice closure. So all the European fintechs, check it out. Thank you very much for listening. Thank you also for having you both in our podcast. And stay tuned because more fintech news will follow on this podcast. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks, good. Thanks for listening to another episode of the Connector Podcast. To connect and keep up to date with all the latest, head over to www.jointheconnector.com or hit subscribe via your podcast streaming platform.