HKUST Business School’s Fintech Research Project has been instrumental in promoting Hong Kong’s fintech development.
Fintech plays a pivotal role in consolidating Hong Kong’s position as an international financial center. To maintain its competitive edge, Hong Kong must keep pace with developments in areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and encryption technologies and their application in the finance industry.
The Business School has been active in this area. Funded by the Research Grants Council’s Theme- based Research Scheme, the School launched the Fintech Research Project in 2019. Conducted by a multidisciplinary team of experts from HKUST and other universities in accounting, economics, computer science and information systems, the Project aims to develop a deeper understanding of the interplay between technology and financial services in Hong Kong. The hope is that it will enable researchers to discover the impact of fintech on individual investors, financial institutions, and on the industry, and establish a roadmap for transforming Hong Kong into a global fintech hub.
Comprising eight research tasks covering blockchain, cybersecurity, risk preference, robo-advising, artificial intelligence/machine learning, systemic risk, financial innovation policy, and manpower development, the project, which is ending in late 2022, has developed a broad range of policy recommendations, scholarly contributions, as well as talent development initiatives.
“The project’s research findings have offered new insights and fresh perspectives to explore the way forward in industry development, drawing on views from the fintech industry and referencing the experience of major fintech centers around the world,” says the project’s leader, Professor TAM Kar Yan, Dean of HKUST Business School. With a view to informing policy making and strategy development for the city’s fintech sector, the project has already published studies focusing on policy advocacy in areas critical to fintech development. Through the research findings, researchers have facilitated dialogues between industry players, regulators and government agencies to help guide industry development. Scholarly contributions have also led to advances in different facets of fintech research and knowledge transfer.
Since talent development is key to accelerating fintech adoption, the project team has worked diligently to promote fintech to the HKUST community and beyond. By regularly hosting seminars and mentoring programs, it has helped equip local tertiary students with the practical skills and mindset needed to navigate the fast-changing fintech landscape.
“Through this project, we have achieved societal impact by illuminating new possibilities in industry development and providing a platform for industry players, regulators and government agencies to exchange views,” says Professor Tam.
Highlights of the Project’s research findings and applications
• Research study entitled “Hong Kong Towards a Leading Global Fintech Hub: Best Practices and Recommendations Through Examining Other World Hubs” — identified opportunities across the four areas with actionable recommendations for Hong Kong to further enhance its fintech strengths
• Research study entitled “Fintech Talent Development, Competency and Manpower” — expanded on core competencies required for fintech professionals, and provided key observations on the talent landscape of the Hong Kong fintech industry, drawing attention to the need to step up talent development
• Research study entitled “Adoption of virtual banks and insurers in Hong Kong” — offered a comprehensive survey on the public perception of the emerging virtual banking and insurance sector
• Research study entitled “Cybersecurity for Financial Industry: an Analysis of the Cyber Resilience Assessment Framework” — demonstrated the effectiveness of security measures taken by financial institutions under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Cyber Resilience Assessment Framework (C-RAF), and assessed the impact of C-RAF adoption on security in the financial industry
• A Chinese-language book about Hong Kong’s Fintech a journey — promoted fintech to the wider population of Hong Kong, featuring articles by over 30 influential fintech players and School faculty
• FinBERT — developed by the Project team as real-life demonstration of the potential of machine learning in analyzing financial text. The model powers the FinSent project, a financial sentiment analysis web portal tracking sentiment expressed in financial reports and earnings calls of listed companies
