HONG KONG – As cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area deepen collaboration, financial technology and innovation will play a vital role in tackling livelihood issues and offering human-related solutions in the region, according to the head of an online lender.
He was speaking at the 2019 Sina FIA forum in Hong Kong highlighting the use of fintech in the Bay Area in dealing with cross-boundary issues like company financing, personal financial services and management last week.
Diversification and differentiation of those cities actually drive the region’s development, and the world bay areas’ characteristic 'finance+' formulas can be fully leveraged in the Bay Area
Ba Shusong,
Chief Economist, Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Organized by Sina Finance of Chinese mainland technology group Sina Corp, the forum, themed “Financial Innovations and Opportunities in the Greater Bay Area”, drew prominent figures from financial institutions and startups to discuss opportunities in the fintech sector in the 11-city cluster.
Chan said fintech is using technology to refine financial services by lowering costs and coordinating with enterprises and meeting the needs of individuals. “The Bay Area’s economic development has to do with fintech and big data to bring financial services to every person and the company,” he said.
Touching on the financial development and trend in the Bay Area, Ba Shusong, chief economist with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, stressed the unique geographical positions of the 11 cities in the Bay Area cluster.
He said the diversification and differentiation of those cities actually drive the region’s development, and the world bay areas’ characteristic “finance+” formulas can be fully leveraged in the Bay Area, such as “finance + technology’, “finance + manufacturing” and “finance + service”.
Taking the other bay areas in the world into consideration, Ba noted that about 60 percent of global economic activities are centered in the port and bay areas, and the “bay economy” has gradually become the pivot and development engine of the global economy.
“In other regions of the world, two financial centers are usually involved in intense competition, while Hong Kong and the financial cluster on the Chinese mainland bring out the concept of synergy with mutual needs and impetus,” said Ba.
The development of the mainland’s financial cluster, he said, benefits from Hong Kong’s financial resources while, for Hong Kong, the original financial services from the mainland have contributed to the city’s financial industry.
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The coexistence of a multi-system in the Bay Area with a market-oriented and open environment provides innovation in the region with great scope for development, Ba said.
A panel discussion about integrative development of traditional finance and fintech in the Bay Area was held during the forum.
Amy Lo – chairperson and head of Greater China, UBS Wealth Management – said the traditional banking sector has already begun embracing technology and innovation, and UBS has brought communication with customers via messaging apps into compliance.
Chen Daliang – vice-president and chief financial officer of Tongdun Technology – suggested that traditional commercial banks build up partnerships with technology companies on matters like helping banks to make decisions on issuing loans.
Between 2005 and 2016, the total volume of trade between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland had surged from HK$1.625 billion to HK$11.91 billion, reflecting the increasingly frequent interactions between the two regions.
The forum panelists agreed that the Bay Area’s development will create great opportunities for the region and accelerate growth.
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