There’s no disputing that the west has, for many decades, been at the forefront of growth in the banking industry, however, when it comes to the rise of the FinTech sector, it looks like China and India have their work cut out, as there’s a new kid in town and her name is Asia Pacific.
“With more than 6000 FinTech star-ups in Asia Pacific alone, the region offers strong potential and is expected to generate the most revenue in the Fintech industry”, with places such as Singapore, Hong Kong and UAE leading the way.
What’s The Cause Of The Rise?
The APAC region has undergone significant digital infrastructure development over the last few years, which means that much-improved digital connectivity has allowed people, who would have otherwise been cut off from technical working opportunities, to throw their hat into the ring and contribute their talent to the world.
So, let’s take a look at some of the front-runners, shall we?
Singapore: The Lion City
Lion by name, lion by nature, Singapore is world-famous for being a global financial centre.
Other than being home to the world’s only airport with a waterfall, this prolific city-state does not hide the fact it is determined to become the next Silicon Valley.
“For the last two years running, Singapore has been nominated as the top global innovation location for technologists by its peers in KPMG’s Global Technology Innovation Hubs research. (Source: KPMG).
Additionally, with Singapore now ranked second in the world on the International Property Rights Index (maintained by the Property Rights Alliance), this bolstered confidence from companies that invest heavily in research and development could undoubtedly lead to more IPOs on the SGX going forward.”
Hong Kong: The Land Of Trade & Investment
Due to Hong Kong’s magnetism that physically pulls some of the world’s most dynamic and future-focused business brains into its orbit, it’s no wonder that Hong Kong is dubbed the hub of FinTech.
As the government continues to develop initiatives and grants to support and bolster local FinTech projects and businesses, this richly lucrative encouragement means that Hong Kong is now highly diverse in sectors including cybersecurity, blockchain, virtual banking, insurance tech, robo-advisory, digital trading and asset management.
With no signs of slowing down, Hong Kong is one of APAC’s most wealthy ecosystems of both private and public organisations, which is only going to get bigger and bigger with the focus on FinTech development.
United Arab Emirates: Playground Of The Rich
Boasting the world’s tallest building and the world’s most stable economies in its global hubs of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, you can very quickly see why the UAE continues to maintain its position as the leader in FinTech in the Middle East, with currently over 70 FinTech companies based there.
What Does The Future Hold?
As these 3 titans of FinTech continue to grow in the APAC, so too will the opportunities in the west, as many of the successful companies will inevitably expand to have a foothold within the Western giants’ regions of London and New York, bringing with it a wealth of collaborative and investment opportunities for both business owners and employees.
According to FinTech Analysts:
“We are still at the earliest stages of true FinTech as the future impact of cloud computing, IoT, artificial intelligence, and blockchain cannot even be estimated yet. Each year, tech companies are digging deeper into the financial services value chain and also creating new market structures in underbanked developing countries.”
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