Celebrating a New FinTech Era and Innovation of Industry Experts

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 26 September 2023 – Organised by The Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia (IFTA), the IFTA FinTech and Innovation Awards 2022/2023 (IFTA Awards) Presentation Ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Productivity Council yesterday (25 September). Officiated the ceremony was the Guest of Honour Mr Joseph Chan JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government. A total of 22 corporate winners and 9 individuals / teams were commended with an award. OPENHIVE scooped the Best FinTech of the Year Award while the Best FinTech of the Year – Startup Award went to Reimagine Cyberbay Limited.

In its fifth edition this year, IFTA has selected “Game Changers: The Rise of Next Gen FinTech” as the theme of the Awards in response to the wide uptake of artificial intelligence and chatbot technology, with the aim of honouring individuals and teams who have fuelled the development and adoption of FinTech, and motivating innovations essential to drive Hong Kong into a new FinTech era.

Mr Joseph Chan JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government shared in his speech, “The Hong Kong SAR Government is committed to promoting Fintech as a means to enhance the overall competitiveness of the financial services sector. Our strategy is multi-pronged – enhancing Fintech infrastructure, promoting Hong Kong’s Fintech competitiveness internationally, launching support schemes to incentivise innovative financial services, nurturing Fintech talent, and fostering a regulatory environment conducive to local innovation and cross-boundary collaboration. May the innovative spirit of all winners continue to blaze new trails in the Fintech landscape.”

Mr Wilson Kwok, Founder and Vice Chairman of IFTA mentioned, “In an era where technological applications grow and are adopted at an exponential rate, FinTech evolution has become the driving force of the future. Digital technology such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and the internet of things have revolutionised human activities in multiple ways. Innovative adoption of technology in finance has also re-defined workflow and processes related to trading, banking, transactions, investments, risk management and more. We must stay ahead of the curve or risk being left behind. We look forward to more innovations to come at the next edition of the Awards.”

Dr Dorothy Chau, IFTA Awards Head Juror said, “This year we have introduced new ‘Cybersecurity and Data Protection’ award category to recognize companies which have contributed to cybersecurity. This addition reflects the evolving landscape of our industry and the importance of cybersecurity and inclusion in driving innovation. My congratulations go to all winners. Your achievements have not only pushed the boundaries of what is possible in FinTech but have also elevated Hong Kong’s reputation as one of the world’s leading financial centres.”

Response to the Awards was enthusiastic with over 29 nominations received under 14 different categories, including 10 corporate awards for Asia region and 4 individual awards. The highlight of this year was the Best FinTech of the Year Award which was scooped by OPENHIVE, a new technology brand that specializes in enterprise-grade solutions for multiparty data collaboration, AI, and privacy technology, allowing multiple parties to collaborate on modelling and data analysis while preserving the privacy and security of their data. A new start-up Reimagine Cyberbay Limited was awarded Best FinTech of the Year – Start-up Award. Established in 2022, Cyberbay is the first crowdsourcing all-in-one bug bounty marketplace platform in Hong Kong, aiming to connect corporates and cybersecurity researchers via crowdsourced bug bounty service to provide undisrupted and cost-effective cybersecurity checking solution to safeguard corporate business digital assets.

Results of IFTA FinTech and Innovation Awards 2022/2023:
Corporate Achievements – FinTech Solutions

Regulatory Tech
Platinum	VerifyVASP
Insurance Tech
Gold	Prudential Hong Kong Limited
Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and CEP (Cryptoasset Exchange Providers)
Platinum	Forms Syntron Information (HK) Limited
Payment Tech
Gold	LAB Pay Solutions Limited
Banking Tech
Diamond	Openhive
Gold	Hang Seng Bank Limited
Gold	One Financial Technology Limited
Silver	Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited
Wealth Tech
Platinum	Manulife Investment Management
Gold	CASH Wealth Management Limited and CASH Quant Finance Lab Limited
Metaverse, NFT, And DeFi (Decentralised Finance)
Platinum	Muverse HK Limited Muverse
Silver	DAEM Technology Limited
Cybersecurity and Data Protection
Diamond	Reimagine Cyberbay Limited
Platinum	Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited
PropTech
Gold	MOVA

Outstanding Financial Technologists of the Year

Leader of the Year
Excellence	Qupital Limited – Mr Winston Wong
Merit	Quanzhou Jintong Information Technology Co., Ltd – Dr Hong ZhiLing
Rising Star of the Year
Excellence	HKUST Web3.0 Labs – Mr Stan Ying
Star in the Making
Merit	Fintech Foxes– Miss Ayazhan Kadessova
Merit	GreenChain – Miss Lee Yuk Ching
Merit	Hong Kong Baptist University Trust Credit – Mr Liu Junkang
Merit	InsurEasy – Mr NUNAYON Medeba Samuel
Merit	The University of Hong Kong – Mr Wong Wing Lam
Team of the Year
Excellence	Bank of East Asia, Limited & Openhive

Honorary Awards

FinTech with ESG Initiative of the Year
Diamond	BlueOnion Limited
Diamond	On-us Company Limited
Best User Experience Application of the Year
Diamond	Quanzhou Jintong Information Technology Co., Ltd
Honorary FinTech Education & Talent Development Awards
Diamond	Hong Kong Baptist University Master of Science in Finance (FinTech and Financial Analytics) Programme
Diamond	Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Please click here to download high-resolution pictures.

Photo Caption
Photo 1: Mr Joseph Chan JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government delivered speech

Photo 2: Group photo with Founder of IFTA, Guest of Honour (From left to right: Mr Wilson Kwok, Founder and Vice Chairman of IFTA; Mr Joseph Chan JP, Under Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government; Mr Paul Pong, Founder and Chairman of IFTA)

Hashtag: #IFTA

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About IFTA

The Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia (IFTA) is a non-profit organization established in Hong Kong in September 2017. Our main goals are to elevate the professional standards of financial technology in Asia, drive fintech education, and cultivate talent for the industry. Building upon the collaboration between IFTA, the London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF), and the launch of the Certified FinTech Practitioner (CFP) program last year, we have developed certification requirements for financial technology professionals this year, known as the Certified Financial Technologist (CFT) designation. Our vision is to expand the reach of financial and technology courses to Mainland China, Taiwan, and other regions in Asia. In addition to our comprehensive courses, IFTA organizes a wide range of activities, including seminars, Fintech Awards, and workshops, to promote the development of fintech, nurture professionals, and encourage participation from government bodies, regulatory agencies, universities, corporations, and startups.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 26 September 2023 – As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, a time when families gather to celebrate the full moon and the bountiful harvest, Anmako, the Singaporean brand renowned for its contemporary batik clothing, has geared up to make this year’s festivities even more special. With a commitment to quality, practicality, and beauty, Anmako’s unique batik clothing line is the perfect choice for those who want to celebrate this cultural event in style.

At Anmako, clothing is more than just fabric; it’s a canvas for self-expression. Their line of exquisite batik clothing is carefully crafted to reflect the rich cultural heritage of Asia while catering to modern lifestyles. Drawing inspiration from the vibrant blend of international cultures in Singapore, Anmako’s designs are a testament to simplicity and excellence.

Traditional Influence, Modern Appeal

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is deeply rooted in Chinese tradition but celebrated by various communities in Singapore. It’s an occasion for family reunions, mooncake sharing, lantern parades, and enjoying the beauty of the full moon.

Anmako’s batik clothes are the perfect embodiment of this fusion. Their designs seamlessly blend traditional Indonesian batik patterns with Japanese aesthetics, resulting in garments that are not only visually captivating but also remarkably comfortable to wear. By utilising high-quality cotton and linen materials sourced from Indonesia and Japan, Anmako ensures that their creations are both luxurious and functional.

Celebrating Culture and Heritage

In line with the Mid-Autumn Festival’s emphasis on culture and heritage, Anmako’s dedication to Asian art and textiles is evident in each of their creations. Their batik clothing pays tribute to the exquisite craftsmanship of Indonesian batik artisans, blending timeless traditions with modern designs that harmonise with the vibrant tapestry of Singapore’s diverse culture. Furthermore, Anmako’s philosophy also centres on inclusive fashion, catering to various body types and preferences. Take, for instance, their batik dresses, thoughtfully designed with the addition of pockets, effortlessly fusing style and practicality.

Taste of Tradition

No celebration is complete without delicious food, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is no exception. Mooncakes, a traditional delicacy, are exchanged as gifts among friends and family. Anmako understands the significance of this culinary tradition and encourages its customers to celebrate in style by donning their comfortable yet elegant batik clothing while savouring mooncakes with their loved ones.

Embrace the Full Moon in Anmako Style

As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, Anmako extends an invitation to everyone to celebrate with sophistication in their exquisite batik attire. Whether one is participating in a traditional lantern parade, enjoying a mooncake feast, or simply basking in the radiance of the full moon, Anmako’s batik clothing is the ideal choice to embrace the essence of the festival.

This year, transform the Mid-Autumn Festival into a truly special occasion by selecting Anmako’s unique batik fashion to express cultural pride and contemporary elegance.

Hashtag: #BatikClothingSingapore #BatikDressSingapore #Batik

https://www.facebook.com/anmako.sg/
https://www.instagram.com/anmako_singapore/

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About Anmako Singapore

Anmako specialises in crafting clothing that seamlessly complements the dynamic and vibrant lifestyle of modern Singapore. Their distinctive approach marries traditional batik artistry with contemporary Japanese influences, resulting in what they call “Singapore Chic.” This style is inspired by Singapore’s diverse culture, pleasant tropical weather, and the balance between work, leisure, and everyday life.

In Anmako’s latest collection, meticulously chosen cotton and linen fabrics from Indonesia and Japan take centre stage, with anticipation building for the introduction of textiles from diverse Asian origins in the near future.

• eCOM Tokenizer of G+D and Netcetera to secure online shoppers’ privacy
  and boost e-commerce businesses.

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – EQS Newswire – 26 September 2023 – GPE (Global Payment Europe) and the e-commerce payment expert, Netcetera, are forging an even stronger alliance to elevate the shopping experience for countless customers across Europe and strengthen the trust in the online payment ecosystem. By introducing the beneficial payment technology, network tokenization, powered by Netcetera and the global security technology group, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), GPE affirms its commitment to remain at the forefront of payment innovation.

Network tokenization is a technology that ensures merchants and consumers can use the latest developments in digital payments. On average, every merchant faces a 6% monthly expiration of their customer accounts, severely impacting the payment flows and the conversion rates. To increase the conversion by keeping the credentials always up-to-date and enhancing the security, GPE introduced card network tokenization using the innovative and award-winning eCOM Tokenizer of Netcetera and G+D. The eCOM Tokenizer acts as an aggregator service, seamlessly connecting GPE’s payment gateway, GP webpay, with token services offered by major card networks such as Mastercard Secure Card on File and Visa Token Service. It enables tokenization of the card data for all the Cards on file and Recurring payments.

This step is expected to yield remarkable benefits for merchants, including a 3-5% increase in approval rates, primarily due to better risk scoring and approvals by card issuers. By securely storing and processing customer payment information, the eCOM Tokenizer solution significantly reduces the risks associated with fraud and data breaches.

GPE has witnessed a remarkable conversion rate improvement during the first weeks of operations. This improvement can be attributed to the automatic renewals of the card data in case of lost or stolen cards and the enhanced security features that have reinforced customers’ trust. “It’s our responsibility to offer our merchants and online shoppers a secure and seamless experience. Therefore, we once again turned to Netcetera and its card network service to safeguard the interests of our customers and end-cardholders. Together, we lay a solid foundation to future-proof our services against the evolving needs of the market and the online shoppers.” – commented Vaclav Kerka, Director of E-commerce Solutions at GPE.

Recognizing the importance of network tokenization, card networks have introduced financial incentives for processing tokenized transactions. Acquirers not adopting this technology will face performance fees for PAN-approved Authorizations.

The role of Network Tokenization in preventing false declines is undeniable, with market predictions suggesting that it will facilitate 85% of all global e-commerce transactions by 2028.

Peter Frick, Manager of Secure Digital Payment at Netcetera, emphasized: “It’s a privilege and an inspiration to serve a valued partner like GPE. As they continue to expand and thrive, so do we. Collaborating with forward-thinking partners like GPE allows us to push boundaries and gain fresh insights continually.” The partnership’s mission is clear: to elevate cardholders’ experience and pioneer innovative, reliable, and human-centric solutions that enhance every aspect of the online payment landscape.

Hashtag: #NetceteraAG

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About Netcetera

Netcetera is a global software company with cutting-edge IT products and individual digital solutions in the areas of secure digital payment, financial technologies, media, transport, healthcare and insurance. More than 2,500 banks and issuers and 170,000 merchants rely on the digital payment solutions and globally certified 3-D Secure products of the market leader for payment security. The owner-managed company covers the entire IT lifecycle, from ideation and strategy to implementation and operation. The balanced combination of the latest technologies and proven standards ensures investment security, from large-scale projects to innovative start-ups. Founded in 1996, Netcetera is a holding company with around 800 employees and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with additional locations across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Further information: netcetera.com

About Global Payments Europe

Global Payments is a technology and software company providing the world’s leading complete commerce ecosystem to businesses of every size. This unique, connected infrastructure serves every dimension of commerce, safely and seamlessly carrying billions of transactions every year.

The Company focuses on innovations which bring to the end customers new user experiences as identification of a customer via payment card, mobile payments or the usage of a standard payment card as a coupon in public transport.
GPE serves banks, merchant acquirers, fintechs and technological companies, petrol downstream companies and large retail chains, mainly across Europe but also in the Asia-Pacific region.

Member of Global Payments Inc. – Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading worldwide provider of payment technology services that delivers innovative solutions driven by customer needs globally. It provides a broad range of products and services that allow its customers to accept all payment types across various distribution channels in many markets worldwide. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with more than 11,000 employees worldwide, Global Payments is a member of the S&P 500 with customers and partners in 32 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Brazil.

Card Transaction Processor | Global Payments (globalpaymentsinc.com)

Global cloud leader joins forces with technology partners to accelerate application development innovation

HANGZHOU, CHINA – Media OutReach – 26 September 2023 – Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, today announced a series of innovative AI products and services at the 2023 Alibaba Cloud Global Summit. The comprehensive set of new products are designed to meet the burgeoning demand for Generative AI development from customers worldwide.

The extensive AI solutions from Alibaba Cloud, spanning from AI computing platforms to AI acceleration services and AI-centric applications, are designed to assist customers in creating their own Generative AI applications in a more efficient, security-focused, and cost-effective manner.

Selina Yuan, President of International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, said: “To cater for the thriving demand for generative AI, we are constantly introducing innovative products and services to tackle different pain points of our global customers. Our comprehensive AI services are designed to help customers seize the unparalleled opportunities offered by this unstoppable technology trend.”

“As part of our commitment to foster more inclusive and innovative application development for generative AI, we have been joining forces with industry leaders to further extend our capabilities for different scenarios, ” added Yuan.

Comprehensive AI Services for Generative AI Development

• To reduce AI process complexity, Alibaba Cloud introduced PAI-Lingjun Intelligent Computing Service, a comprehensive AI computing platform for high-performance computing tasks, such as foundation model training and inference. It offers large-scale deep learning and intelligent computing capabilities on Alibaba Cloud. The service also provides full-process AI engineering capabilities, including AI development, AI training, AI role management, and computing resource management. The platform, already in use in Mainland China, will be available in Singapore from early 2024, followed by more general availability across Asia throughout the year.

• To accelerate AI model training and inference, Alibaba Cloud launched Alibaba Cloud AI Acceleration Solution, which uses leading datasets and hardware accelerators to manage data-intensive applications, optimizing the utilization of computing instances to expedite AI model training and inference tasks. According to the Stanford DAWN Deep Learning Benchmark, it can speed up AI model training by 70% and inference by up to three times. The solution includes layers for cloud-native AI suite, AI job scheduling, AI data acceleration, AI computing acceleration engine, resource scheduling, and computing resources, with each layer offering specific acceleration solutions for different scenarios.

• To simplify building AI-based search service, Alibaba Cloud unveiled OpenSearch LLM-Based Conversational Search, its proprietary large-scale distributed search engine that enables intelligent search services in e-commerce, multimedia, social media, and big data queries in enterprises. Empowered by large language models, the service allows enterprises to rapidly build a dedicated conversational search system, ensuring security, accuracy, and reliability in search results. It also supports multimodal search results such as answers, URLs, and images to cater to specific business search requirements.

Technology Partnership to Foster Innovative Application Development

Alibaba Cloud announced a series of partnerships with global technology leaders to offer customers more advanced and security-focused cloud services, accelerating their digital transformation journey:

To promote innovative application development for enterprises, Alibaba Cloud collaborates with Red Hat to make Red Hat OpenShift, a platform for building, deploying and managing applications at scale, deployable on Alibaba Cloud. Red Hat OpenShift on Alibaba Cloud combines the industry’s leading hybrid cloud application platform powered by Kubernetes with Alibaba Cloud’s robust hybrid infrastructure. Optimized with full-stack automated operations, it offers a more consistent experience across environments to help customers boost productivity more effectively.

Accelerate Digital Transformation for Global Customers

Alibaba Cloud also announced collaborations with enterprise customers in markets including Malaysia, South Korea, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates, underscoring its unwavering commitment to its over 4 million global customers in exploring new opportunities presented by digital transformation and new AI trends.

Hashtag: #AlibabaCloud #AlibabaCloudGlobalSummit2023

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Alibaba Cloud

Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com) is the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group. It offers a complete suite of cloud services to customers worldwide, including elastic computing, database, storage, network virtualization services, large-scale computing, security, management and application services, big data analytics, a machine learning platform and IoT services. Alibaba maintained its position as the third leading public cloud IaaS service provider globally since 2018, according to IDC. Alibaba is the world’s third leading and Asia Pacific’s leading IaaS provider by revenue in U.S. dollars since 2018, according to Gartner.

BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach – 26 September 2023 – The National Innovation Agency (Public Organization) or NIA has collaborated with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to develop ARI Innovation District with ARITech, which covers AI, Robotics, and Immersive and IoT Technology, for the goals of driving the growth of the district and transform it into a cognitive city. Four key components for the development are economic assets, physical assets, network assets, and digital assets. ARI Innovation District or ARID will be developed as a new economic hub to accommodate innovative businesses, investments by the public and private sectors, as well as global tech firms. ARID is expected to pilot as an innovation sandbox in its mission to stimulate the investments of infrastructure crucial to the development of practical technologies. In support of this mission, ARID Hackathon 2023: Innovation for well-being was held. The top winner from the contest is PARK :D, which presented “Parking Lot – Sharing” platform as a means to improve transport connectivity. The award-winning idea will be developed further and used as an innovation for ARID.

Mr. Sanon Wangsrangboon, deputy governor of Bangkok, reveals that BMA and NIA have shared the goal of making the Thai capital a pleasant place to live in via policy formulation and implementation. To achieve this goal, it is important to use innovations in not just easing or solving problems but also leveraging existing good resources for enhanced livability and added value. ARI is a strategic area, which is now being upgraded into “innovation district”. The upgrade marks an important beginning of its journey to become more livable with better housing, convenient public services, modernity, and a town plan that well supports tech-driven businesses. ARI can ride on its ranking as one of the world’s best neighborhoods for its transformation into a top innovation district at an international level and its comprehensive integration of innovations.

“Bangkok is not just a tourist or a residential city. It is important to note that on the basis of supportive ecosystem for startups and innovations, Bangkok ranks among the best in the world. This year, Bangkok’s ranking in this regard also improves significantly. Such outstanding progress underlines the fact that the Thai capital is innovative in many aspects and enjoys urban growth, which are driven by its innovation districts and their strengths. So far, many other neighborhoods may need innovations too. BMA therefore is playing a role as a facilitator via regulation, bridging and integration in a way that boosts confidence in the possibility of innovation usage. Our efforts cover the development of innovation districts, which focus on impacts on people, city, economy, and new opportunities”.

Mr. Chanwit Rattanarasri, director of Innovation Infrastructure Department at the NIA, says his agency has laid down guidelines to pursue and distribute area-based innovation development at regional, city, and district levels. The development focuses on three dimensions: the promotion and development of Innovation Infrastructure, the development of City Innovation & Innovative City which include promoting community participation; and bridging and integration across relevant organizations in key dimensions. Moreover, NIA seeks to bring Deep Tech to various areas including ARID or ARI Innovation District in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai District. While being home to many people, ARID is also an outstanding economic hub, supports business establishments, facilitates the usage of infrastructure, and addresses many pain points in a way that fosters the development of new technologies.

“NIA, in collaboration with BMA and partners in both private and public sectors as well as communities in ARID, aims to increase ARITech’s role in developing ARID and promoting startups in this district in a hope that public services become really inclusive. After our collaboration started in 2020, we have found that ARID has important components. If these components are well-integrated, ARID will definitely progress further. These components are: 1) Economic assets or companies, researches, and startups related to ARITech that are scattered across this area and include world-famous firms like IBM, Forth Corporation and AIS; 2) Physical assets such as ARID’s city-center location, convenient access to public transport systems, and mixed use of spaces; 3) Network assets from entrepreneurs, government agencies, and civic organizations that have come together because of their shared goal of developing ARID; and 4) Digital assets that are available in the form of electronic data on electronic networks including databases or widely-used platforms”.

Mr. Chanwit adds that in 2023, NIA, BMA, and partners aim to establish ARID as a “Cognitive City”. Therefore, they will together expedite the development or adoption of Deep Tech to enhance ARID’s strengths and let it shine as a new economic hub for innovative businesses, investments by public and private sectors, as well as international tech firms. Also, NIA, BMA and partners aim to strengthen ecosystem for innovations by developing ARID as an innovation sandbox where infrastructure for technology development will be developed and used to solve city problems, increase the value of ARID’s physical assets, and foster collaborations among relevant organizations. In line with these plans, NIA organized ARID Hackathon 2023: Innovation for well-being to promote, build, and develop the sandbox where innovations will be tested. The contest focuses on the environment, connectivity, and safety. Out of the 36 teams that participated, 5 teams made it to the finals and joined the contest’s mentoring activity and pitching. PARK 😀 emerged as the top winner thanks to its presentation of Parking Lot – Sharing platform, which promises to enhance transport connectivity. Its idea will be developed further as a protype for testing in ARID.

If you need more information, please visit https://ari.district.earth or https://www.facebook.com/ARI.Innovation.District.

Hashtag: #NationalInnovationAgency #NIA

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