The PBOC Sets Up a Financial Technology Company in Shenzhen
On September 5th, the Digital Money Research Institute of People’s Bank of China established “Shenzhen Financial Technology Co., Ltd.” in Shenzhen. People familiar with the project said the company was involved in the development of projects such as the trade finance blockchain. According to its business registration information, the company was established on June 15 this year, with a registered capital of 2 million yuan. The business scope includes: financial technology related technology development, technical consultation, technology transfer, technical services; financial technology related system construction and maintenance.
Apart from DCR, a number of sub-institutions of PBOC, including the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, have successively entered into the blockchain industry.
In September 2017, the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation established the Hangzhou Blockchain Technology Research Institute of China Banknote Credit Card Industry Development Co., Ltd. in Hangzhou through the subsidiary China Banknote Credit Card Industry Development Co., Ltd. Chain Technology Research Institute). Up to now, the research institute has released a spectrum block registration open platform, a China Banknote Financial Blockchain Solution (Block-X) and other products. (Source: 21Jingji.com)
Nearly 30 Institutes HaveApplied for Hong Kong Virtual Banking License
On the last day of August, the first batch of virtual banking license application in Hong Kong were formally closed. According to Bloomberg News, as of 5 pm on August 31, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) has received 29 applications. Some of them have completed relevant approval procedures and are close to complete. Tencent, Ant Financial, JD Finance, Zhongan Insurance, Xiaomi, Ping An, HSBC Hong Kong, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) and other technology or financial institutions have participated in the application in the form of sole proprietorship or joint venture.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said that it would issue licenses to virtual banks by the end of this year or the first quarter of next year. And the total number of by the first batch of virtual banking licenses will be around 8 to 10. (Source: All Weather TMT)
PwC Releases “Global Fintech Survey China Summary 2018”
On September 4th, the “Global Fintech Survey China Summary 2018” published by PwC pointed out that while technology has given great kinetic energy to financial services, it has also brought new systemic risk.
Whether it is traditional financial institutions or financial technology company or regulators, one must fully understand the opportunities and challenges involved in this change. In the financial technology 3.0 model, future innovations will be built around three Es, namely Efficiency, Experience and Ecosystem. The report shows that the investment and application of various types of institutions to financial technology is constantly deepening. More than half of the traditional financial institutions surveyed are independently developing and applying financial technology through different forms, or choose to establish diversified cooperation models with financial technology companies. On the other hand, with the changes in the regulatory environment, the strategies for cooperation between financial technology companies and traditional financial institutions have also changed and become more and more technology-based in recent years. (Source: ce.cn)
Tencent Invests in Nigerian Payment Company Paystack
On August 30th, Nigerian payment startup Paystack managed to complete the $8 million Series A round of financing. This round of investment was led by Stripe, and followed by Visa, Tencent and Y Combinator. In addition, some angel investors, Tom Stafford (managed partner of DST Global), Gbenga Oyebode (founding partner of Aluko & Oyebode and board member of MTN Nigeria) and Dale Mathias (co-founder of Innovation Partners Africa) also contributed to this round of financing. It has been estimated that Paystack’s total financing had already reached $10 million. (Source: Sina)
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