How to maintain Hong Kong’s status as a FinTech Hub?
Hong Kong is one of the top global financial centers and its financial services industry contributes 23% of the total GDP. It has also emerged as the leading FinTech hub in APAC, which is key to cementing Hong Kong’s regional and international competitiveness in the long run. It is clear to us that technologies and cloud-based solutions can benefit FinTechs and the industry greatly throughout their growth journey. However, hurdles such as implementation difficulty and the talent gap, especially in product innovation, remain.
As part of our Smarter Digital City initiative, we collaborated with Cyberport to launch the “Igniting Startups & FinTechs Program”. We have brought together a suite of Google solutions ranging from cloud computing and digital marketing to maps integration that enable startups to scale and pivot quickly to address new opportunities in today’s rapidly changing environment. We hope our Smarter Digital City initiative and strategic collaborations with industry players will help Hong Kong advance as an international financial center, powered by technology and innovation.
Learn more about the Igniting Startups & FinTechs Program presented by Google and Cyberport
2022: “Advancing Hong Kong’s FinTech Ecosystem”, a continuation of the Smarter Digital City research series
How can Hong Kong become a Smarter Digital City? Since 2017, Google Hong Kong has published a series of annual research reports, Smarter Digital City (SDC), to explore themes, provide recommendations, and track progress related to this question.
This year, the research focuses on taking a closer look at the challenges and opportunities faced by FinTechs in Hong Kong. We launched “Advancing Hong Kong’s FinTech Ecosystem”, as part of the Smarter Digital City report series, in collaboration with Quinlan & Associates, to serve as a valuable guide to ecosystem players to propel the industry forward.
Download “Smarter Digital City - Advancing Hong Kong’s FinTech Ecosystem” Research Report
At least 50% of FinTechs find application programming interfaces (APIs), data analytics and visualisation, and artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) tools to be important technologies in product innovation.
Over 75% of FinTechs express digital marketing has been critical for their sales and marketing efforts.
Less than one-third of FinTechs see cybersecurity as important technology with regards to Management & Operations, which is a worrying sign for potential operational risks.
Early-stage FinTechs understate data analytics & visualisation in management and operation.
Skills such as sales and product design are in high demand as 79% and 68% of FinTechs prioritise their hire in the coming 1 - 2 years, respectively.
For previous reports, please see SDC - A Refreshed Look at Export in 2022, SDC - AI for Everyone in 2020, SDC 3.0 in 2019, SDC 2.0 in 2018 and SDC in 2017.
