Valley of the East - Singapore or HK? (Amended)

THE financial services industry and the wealth management space within it are at an inflection point. But are we living through the tipping point now, or are we still just on the cusp of it? The Asian "fintech" - or financial technology - ecosystem has never been so vibrant, and this may be only the tip of the iceberg. Although Asia is bursting with innovation as a whole, two places of particular interest are Singapore and Hong Kong. But which of these is emerging as the true "Valley of the East" in the fintech race? Let's look at what's happening in each a little closely.

We are well aware of the impetus created by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to bring to fruition its vision of fostering innovation in fintech to develop Singapore as a "Smart Financial Centre". Blythe Masters, a high-profile banker-turned-fintech-entrepreneur, is the latest entrant to the 15-member International Technology Advisory Panel - the star-studded group organised by MAS that includes, among others, Vikram Pandit, the former head of Citigroup. MAS is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the upcoming Singapore FinTech Festival in November will be a platform that not only galvanises the entire fintech ecosystem but also ensures that Singapore will establish itself as the preferred haven for the best incumbents and startups.

Total technology procurement budgets of the 200 banks in Singapore had swelled to US$485 billion in 2014, according to Gartner. Recognising that only a small part of this may be directed at innovation, banks such as DBS, UBS, Citi and, more recently, OCBC have not only set up their innovation centres to enable disruption from within but have also launched various startup incubators and accelerator programmes. As an example, Pact, a leading incubator under the aegis of the Hub, Singapore's innovation lab, is a partnership between DBS and the National Youth Council.