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A Quick Response code is displayed at the September launch ceremony for the Faster Payment System, a Hong Kong Monetary Authority platform which allows bank customers to transfer money, shop and pay bills by scanning the QR codes. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Opinion
Peter Estlin
Peter Estlin

Hong Kong and the UK can develop fintech sectors together in the Year of the Pig, both as partners and competitors

  • Peter Estlin says that as international financial hubs, the UK and Hong Kong excel at partnerships, as well as the free flow of information and technology fintech requires
Peter Estlin
Peter Estlin
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As Lord Mayor of London and a principle ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services sector, I am confident that the Year of the Pig bodes well for relations between the UK and Hong Kong.

We have learned recently of British and Hong Kong children’s love for a cartoon pig named Peppa, who has become a great ambassador for the UK. Peppa has been popular in Hong Kong for more than a decade and recently made great strides into local homes and schools thanks to the musical staged in January in the city. Even on the Chinese mainland, Peppa has now risen to become a superstar, in part due to a viral advisement campaign that set social media alight with the #whatispeppa hashtag.

Beyond the world of cartoons, let’s remember that the Year of the Earth Pig is all about socialising and maintaining relationships. These are areas where both Hong Kong and London excel – just as we both excel in international finance.

As fellow financial hubs, the strengths of our two cities are built on the foundations of global partnership and the seamless flow of innovation, technology and ideas.

Fintech, in which London and Hong Kong lead the world, is a good example of all these attributes. Inevitably, there is healthy competition between our two great cities, but also plenty of room to work together. This week, I’ll be in Hong Kong, meeting business and government leaders and making exactly this point.

As chair of the UK Department for International Trade’s fintech steering board, I’m particularly pleased that my visit follows the announcement of a new pilot programme to support UK companies looking to expand into the Hong Kong fintech market.

After the signing of the UK-Hong Kong Fintech Bridge back in September 2017, this new programme fits in perfectly with the City of London Corporation’s vision of building city-to-city links in areas of high growth potential.

Hong Kong’s fintechs must shake off their traditional shackles
My own campaign, Shaping Tomorrow’s City Today, aims to promote innovation and technology, champion digital skills and address digital and social inclusion across the UK and the world. We need to ensure that our nations are ready for the challenges and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution.

Fintech is one of these areas. It now contributes £6.6 billion (US$8.45 billion) annually to the UK economy, employing over 76,500 people across some 1,600 companies. Last month, several of these companies came for a productive meeting at Mansion House, my residence in the City, to discuss the market in Hong Kong and the exciting opportunities it presents.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (standing centre, with Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, left) witnesses the signing of the UK-Hong Kong Fintech Bridge Agreement in London in September 2017. Photo: Handout
Ours is a two-way relationship, and I’m keen to explore how some of the hundreds of fintech firms in Hong Kong, whether they are start-ups or more established market players, can also take advantage of the UK as a destination for financing and expansion. I’ll also be looking at further avenues of cooperation in areas like green finance, digital skills and cybersecurity. These are all cross-border issues that affect both our cities as international financial centres.
Of course, no visit at this time would be complete without discussing Brexit, so let me say that we are working with UK government and industry partners to try to create the certainty that business needs. Yes, there may be uncertainty at present, but it will be short-lived. In the longer term, London’s strengths as an international financial centre remain, as does our policy of welcoming greater ties with our Hong Kong partners in the Year of the Pig and beyond.

Peter Estlin is Lord Mayor of the City of London 

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