Hong Kong and Singapore have regularly sparred to claim the crown of regional financial technology hub. Now the two high achievers have decided to team up.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) signed an agreement to strengthen co-operation on fintech between the two cities and foster financial technology development within the region.
The Co-operation Agreement (Agreement) was exchanged on 25 October 2017, at the fintech day organised by the HKMA in Hong Kong. More details will be announced by the two authorities next month which will likely be at the Fintech Festival in Singapore which finews.asia will be covering as a media partner.
Beginning with Blockchain
As part of the Agreement, MAS and HKMA have committed to work on a strategic project on trade finance cross-border infrastructure, based on distributed ledger technology, as their first collaborative initiative.
Besides joint innovation projects, the two monetary authorities will collaborate on other FinTech initiatives, facilitate referrals of innovative businesses, share information, and exchange expertise, to facilitate financial innovation in Singapore and Hong Kong.
«Collaboration between the HKMA and MAS will create significant synergy for the development of fintech and more efficient fund flows between the two markets,» Norman Chan, Chief Executive of the HKMA.
