Singapore and Hong Kong team up in fintech alliance
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have signed an agreement to strengthen co-operation on fintech between the two cities and foster wider fintech development within the region. The agreement was finalised at the FinTech Day organised by the HKMA in late October.
Under 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 joint initiative.
The two monetary authorities said they will collaborate on other fintech initiatives, facilitate referrals of innovative businesses, share information and exchange expertise, in an effort to facilitate financial innovation in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Norman Chan, chief executive of the HKMA, said: “Hong Kong and Singapore are the two leading international financial centres in the region and are actively deploying fintech. Collaboration between the HKMA and MAS will create significant synergy for the development of fintech and more efficient fund flows between the two markets.”
Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS, added: “MAS is delighted to embark on this fintech partnership with Hong Kong. This is one of our more significant fintech cooperation agreements, given the extensive financial and trade linkages between Singapore and Hong Kong. We are especially pleased that we have a live project to enhance the trade finance corridor between the two financial centres.”
