The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has signed a co-operation agreement with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to foster collaboration between the two regulatory authorities towards the promotion of financial innovation.
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Financial Innovation
As a result of the agreement, the FCA and the HKMA will work together on a number of initiatives such as referrals of innovative firms, joint innovation projects, information Exchange and experience sharing, to facilitate financial innovation in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
The latest agreement follows several other collaborations that the FCA has instigated with international authorities including Singapore, South Korea, China and Australia, which it signed in March this year, and is part of its statutory objective to make financial services markets work well. Promoting competition through innovation forms a significant part of the regulator's mission.
Commenting on the new agreement, Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, said: “Both consumers and the wider UK economy benefit from the transfer of ideas and innovation. The Agreement signed today with the HKMA is a good example of this type of international co-operation and we look forward to working to promote innovation and reduce barriers to entry for firms both here in the UK and in Hong Kong."
Breakdown of Barriers
The agreement will reduce the barriers for authorised firms looking to grow to scale overseas and assist non-UK innovators interested in entering the market that is overseen by the FCA.
As far as Hong Kong is concerned, the agreement is a key initiative of the Fintech Facilitation Office (FFO) of the HKMA. It presents significant opportunities for financial and fintech companies to enhance their services and extend their global footprint. The agreement also reflects the HKMA’s commitment to build a vibrant fintech ecosystem.
Shu-Pui Li, Executive Director (Financial Infrastructure) of the HKMA, added: "Collaboration between the HKMA and the FCA will create significant synergy for the two markets by enabling fintech firms and financial institutions to extend their global reach and learn from their foreign counterparts. It will also help to enhance services delivered by financial institutions.”
