HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 18 November 2025 - The ​Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival (HKFW x SMUF) 2025 concluded November 7, following a dynamic week of activities that began with a two-day main conference held November 3 and 4. The event brought together government officials, regulators, innovators, and industry leaders from around the world for a series of panels, keynote speeches, and strategic discussions. The joint celebration of two flagship events reaffirms Hong Kong's commitment to advancing the digital economy. The entire week attracted a record high of over 45 000 visitors from over 120 economies and featured over 1 000 distinguished speakers, over 800 exhibitors and more than 30 Chinese Mainland and international delegations. The event was organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and the Insurance Authority (IA), and the appointed event organiser, Finoverse. Celebrating a decade of excellence As the inaugural convergence of the two flagship events, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, officiated at the opening of the main conference. The main conference showcased 11 themed forums. These included the Policy Forum, Visionary Forum, InsurTech Forum, HealthTech Forum, Wealth & Investment Management Forum, Digital Finance Forum, Digital Assets Forum, Blockchain & Web3 Forum, AI & Advanced Tech Forum, China-Global Innovation Forum, and TechX Forum. Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, Mr Lu Lei, attended the main conference and highlighted the fintech collaboration between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, which has driven advancements such as interoperable cross-boundary payments and e-CNY use cases, unlocking new efficiencies. He emphasised the importance of payment innovation promoting connectivity and fostering integrated economic development between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong. This comes as China charts its 15th Five-Year Plan and reaffirms Hong Kong's role as an international financial centre. Mr Lu noted the continuous expansion of the RMB Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in Hong Kong, including the launch of Hong Kong dollar clearing services as well as southbound and northbound fund settlement functions under Bond Connect. The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, delivered a keynote address and participated in a panel discussion moderated by the Director-General of Investment Promotion of InvestHK, Ms Alpha Lau. Joining Mr Chan on the panel were the Group Chief Executive of HSBC, Mr Georges Elhedery, and the Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, Mr Bill Winters. With around 1 200 fintech companies in Hong Kong, Mr Chan shared three key observations from the journey in building a vibrant fintech ecosystem - financial inclusion as an objective, regulators as enablers of innovation, and responsible and sustainable innovation. At the panel discussion "Curating the New FinTech Era", the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, highlighted blockchain and AI as the transformative technologies for Hong Kong's financial services. Mr Hui also noted the important role that regulatory sandboxes and subsidy programmes play in the city's fintech ecosystem. They are not only the crucial driver in cultivating innovation but also conducive to obtaining valuable views and feedback from the market for better review and enhancement to existing policy and regulatory frameworks. The President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Mr Jin Liqun, attended the Main Conference and shared insights on how financial innovation can help maintain and support nature and ecological conservation. He remarked, "Once we can verify nature as an asset, we can make it investable. We can digitise and scale it to make it sustainable in the long run." He also announced the AIIB's plan to set up an office in Hong Kong to address its growing business needs. Charging ahead with heart: policy and ecosystem perspectives The Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, engaged in an in-depth dialogue with ex-Chairman of Meitu and Angel Investor Mr Cai Wensheng at the Main Conference. Mr Chan detailed Hong Kong's latest growth in the digital asset space. Mr Chan stated that "The Government is promoting the development of digital asset in a sustainable and responsible manner. As Asia's leading international financial centre, in June 2025, we issued the Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets in Hong Kong, reinforcing its commitment to establishing Hong Kong as a global hub for innovation in the digital asset field." The Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Ms Lillian Cheong, in a video speech, outlined the...