Hong Kong has entered a new chapter in its fintech journey, as the city’s monetary authority unveiled a strategic roadmap for fintech development, moving beyond adopting technology to embracing responsible innovation.
Announcing the “Fintech 2030” strategy on Monday, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Chief Executive Eddie Yue Wai-man said the city has fostered a “virtuous cycle” inside its fintech ecosystem in recent years, with technology embedded in the majority of the local banking sector.
“Back then, our goal was to inject momentum and accelerate fintech adoption across the industry,” Yue said during Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025, which began on Monday. “Now, it’s time to take the next step – to focus on advancing responsible innovation.”
The HKMA’s “Fintech 2030” strategy marks the latest extension of its previous fintech development blueprints. With the vision of building Hong Kong into a “robust, resilient, and future-ready fintech hub”, the plan focuses on four strategic pillars: data, artificial intelligence (AI), resilience, and tokenization.
The blueprint sets out more than 40 initiatives, including introducing a new system for early risk detection, accelerating real-world asset tokenization, and promoting comprehensive, responsible use of AI across the financial industry.
The HKMA will collaborate with the industry “to co-create a shared AI infrastructure for finance, a digital backbone with trusted computing, shared tools, and secure data environments”, said Yue.
“That will lower the barrier and level the playing field — especially important for smaller and medium-sized banks — and will also drive innovation for the public good,” Yue added.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said responsibility and sustainability are vital in financial innovation, especially in areas like digital assets and AI.
“While we must encourage innovation, we must also ensure its real-world applicability, investor protection, and financial stability impact,” he added.
The HKMA’s blueprint also seeks to create new financial infrastructure aimed at strengthening cross-border payment connectivity, and supporting secure and efficient data sharing.
Last year, the authorities in Shenzhen and Hong Kong jointly launched a pilot cross-border data validation platform. The platform provides a reliable way for financial institutions on both sides to confirm document validity and ensures that cross-border data is used in an orderly, safe, and regulated manner.
Ye Linsong, a representative of Shenzhen-based digital bank WeBank -- which provides technical support for the validation platform -- said the pilot program has achieved notable success in the financial sector, serving the credit assessment needs of many major banks and financial institutions in the special administrative region.
Ye added that he expects the platform's applications to expand in the future to areas such as business and education, and to reach more places.
Running from Nov 3-7, this year’s FinTech Week takes place alongside StartmeupHK Festival 2025, providing a dedicated platform for the global technology industry and startup community to connect, share ideas, and explore new opportunities.
The events are expected to draw over 37,000 participants, including tech leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and investors, and feature more than 700 exhibitors from over 100 economies.
Also during FinTech Week’s main conference, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced its plan to set up an office in the HKSAR to meet its expanding business needs.
AIIB President Jin Liqun underscored the SAR’s importance in supporting the bank’s high standards of governance and rapid business growth.
“It serves as an interoperable platform for our bank to cooperate (and) collaborate with a wide range of partners, helping incubate and translate novel ideas into tangible developmental impacts worldwide,” Jin said.
Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com
