Hong Kong's FinTech Growth Index for 2019-20 grew by 52.9% compared with its base period from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2019, which represents an optimistic outlook by partnered companies. It can be attributed to policies and measures which act as accelerators to foster a positive impact on the industry's development.
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The anticipated growth of business performance, indicated by FinTech customer adoption rate grew by 113% as compared with the 2018-19 financial year, representing an optimistic outlook of the business development by the companies.
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The business environment, measured by both internal and external factors on FinTech business operations and development, grew by a modest 5% in the same period. Although there is a positive effect of the internal factors by the companies in terms of funding and other capital allocations, it has been cancelled off by the relatively lower average rating on external factors such as investment environment, government policy and regulations.
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Investment on R&D or product development, measured by the anticipated percentage change between 2019-20 financial year and the base period, grew moderately by 48.4%, mainly on areas including AI, big data and machines/deep learning (55.3%), followed by Blockchain (42.3%) and Customer experience (39.5%).
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Demand on Talents, measured by the anticipated percentage change between 2019-20 financial year and the base period, grew moderately by 45.3%. On the required skills for new employees, Programming skills (68.4%) are the most preferable skills for new hires, followed by Marketing expertise (47.4%) and Knowledge of machine/deep learning and AI (42.1%)
HK FinTech Buzz Index
HK FinTech Buzz Index 2022Q1/2
Hong Kong FinTech Buzz Index (FBI) is a quarterly index which represents a quantified sentiment of the local FinTech-related news articles in local Chinese news media.
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Having analysed 913 news articles posted between January and March 2022, the Hong Kong FBI for the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 is 95.6, showing a drop of 4.1 index points (or 4.1%) from 99.7 in the fourth quarter in 2021 (2021 Q4).
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On the other hand, 1,097 news articles posted between April and June 2022 were analysed and the Hong Kong FBI for the second quarter (Q2) of 2022 is 95.4, which indicates a slight drop of 0.2 index points (or 0.2%) from the previous quarter.
2022Q1 sectorial indices
With respect to 2022Q1, a drop was recorded in all six sectorial indices except the Payment & Digital Banking sectorial index. Among the six of them, the sectorial index of Supporters & Others experienced the largest drop, which could be attributed to stringent COVID-19 restrictions that have hampered the development of tourism and the local economy. The risks introduced by online insurance and non-fungible tokens (NFT) contributed to the fall in the sectorial indices of InsurTech and RegTech & Cybersecurity. Data breaches in banks and P2P payment applications led to the drop in sectorial index of WealthTech & CreditTech. The sectorial index of Blockchain & Cryptocurrency has also dropped, as NFT assets and projects have become common targets of hacking attempts. On the other hand, the sectorial index of Payment & Digital Banking has slightly risen, as the pandemic promoted the digital transformation of the banking sector and the use of digital wallets in people’s daily lives.
2022Q2 sectorial indices
In 2022Q2, a drop was recorded in three out of the six sectorial indices, and a rise was seen in the remaining three sectorial indices. The decrease in both the sectorial indices of Blockchain & Cryptocurrency as well as RegTech & Cybersecurity could be attributed to the demand for regulation of online crowdfunding activities and increased activity of cryptocurrency scams. Virtual bank accounts were commonly involved in money laundering and fraud cases, which led to the drop in the sectorial index of Payment & Digital Banking.
On the contrary, the sectorial index of WealthTech & CreditTech experienced the largest increase, since the opening of New Cross-boundary Wealth Management Centre by Hang Seng Bank and GBA Business Trade Connect launched by HSBC created an optimistic outlook for the sector. The development of Big Data services and the expansion of Commercial Data Interchange by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority additionally contributed to the rise in the sectorial indices of InsurTech and Supporters & Others.
