AI replaces Web3 as hot key word in Hong Kong’s FinTech Week

Two years after showcasing Hong Kong’s crypto pivot, FinTech Week organisers say the event can serve as an incubation platform for frontier technologies

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Signage at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2021 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. As hype around cryptocurrencies and blockchain fades, the show’s organisers see AI tech from the mainland taking centre stage. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:00am, 2 Oct 2024Updated: 11:38am, 2 Oct 2024

Artificial intelligence is expected to outshine Web3 at this year’s FinTech Week, which kicks off at the end of the month, as organisers InvestHK and Finoverse tease a slate of mainland Chinese exhibitors looking to ride the generative AI wave.

“[There is] a huge increase in mainland Chinese companies’ representation at this year’s event … [and a] big, big focus on AI and advanced technologies,” said Anthony Sar, founder and CEO of Finoverse. “AI, especially driven a lot by China tech, is one of the prominent trends that’s very different.”

Two years ago, Hong Kong used FinTech Week to focus on a regulatory overhaul meant to turn the city into a virtual asset hub. One of the headlining speakers was FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried, who is now serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud.

Since then, multiple challenges have emerged, including a cryptocurrency market downturn – partially triggered by the 2022 collapse of FTX – major frauds in Hong Kong, and a regulatory regime for exchanges that some have criticised as too strict to stimulate business activity. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT has led to AI projects sucking up much of the technology industry’s attention.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried speaking remotely at Hong Kong FinTech Week on October 31, 2022. 31OCT22 SCMP/ Matt Haldane

FinTech Week is adapting to the times. The focus has turned towards Hong Kong’s role as a “connector” between international business and China, the world’s second-largest AI market behind the US. This year’s conference, which runs from October 28 to November 1, will bring some participants across the border to Shenzhen to visit companies in China’s southern technology hub, including the offices of SenseTime, Tencent Holdings and ByteDance.

Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Post owner Alibaba Group Holding, is sponsoring the event for the first time this year, and CEO Eric Jing is one of the high-profile speakers. Representatives from Tencent, Xiaomi, JD.com and SenseTime will also be there.