Hong Kong and Singapore join forces over fintech

(Oct 25): Hong Kong and Singapore, which have vied for supremacy as financial technology hubs over the past couple of years, have now decided to join forces.

The cities’ central banks have signed a fintech cooperation agreement that will foster collaboration on business referrals, joint innovation projects, information sharing and the exchange of expertise, Norman Chan, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said Wednesday. The first joint project will be on trade finance, Chan said in a speech to open the HKMA Fintech Day.

Financial technology has added a new dimension to the decades-old tussle between Singapore and Hong Kong for the position as Asia’s premier financial center, with both cities throwing hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund startups and build ecosystems conducive to innovation.

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