(29 January 2019)
Abu Dhabi Global Market, ADGM, has been elected as one of the Director Institutions to the new FinTech Cooperation Committee, FTCC, established by the Asian Financial Cooperation Association, AFCA.
The FinTech Cooperation Committee, comprises 60 financial institutions from 12 countries and regions, is an initiative by AFCA to provide industry support and guidance in fostering continuing economic growth and innovative financial developments across Asia.
ADGM, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Ant Financial Services Group have been elected as the founding team of Director Institutions to enable the Committee in establishing FinTech collaborations and business opportunities, strengthening FinTech policies and governance standards, sharing industry knowledge and best practices and exploring related frontier topics in Asia.
Commenting on the announcement, Yang Zaiping, Secretary-General of the Asian Financial Cooperation Association, said , "The aim of the FinTech Cooperation Committee is to foster 'Openness, Inclusiveness, Joint-governance and Shared benefits' of FinTech in Asia. The FTCC is made up of members from the banking, insurance, securities, asset management, financial services and financial education sectors. The Committee will tap on ADGM’s leadership, invaluable knowledge and global successes in FinTech and financial services industry to enable the Committee to focus on its purpose and achieve the objectives."
In turn, Richard Teng, CEO of Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, said, "We are pleased to be invited by the AFCA FinTech Cooperation Committee to work with Shanghai Stock Exchange, Ant Financial and many others from the Asian financial industry to develop an integrated and inclusive FinTech ecosystem. This initiative spearheads collective efforts towards the next wave of digital transformation.
The Middle East region and Asia share so much in common in terms of fast-growing population, rapid urbanisation, underserved markets, vibrant FinTech start-up community and huge demand for financial services. ADGM is honoured to be the first international financial centre and financial services regulator from the MENA region, representing Abu Dhabi, to help accelerate FinTech growth and vast opportunities in Asia and globally. The FinTech Cooperation Committee underscores ADGM’s commitment in fostering an open and sustainable global financial sector, and advancing the Belt-and-Road initiative."
Asian Financial Cooperation Association is a regional non-governmental and non-profit organisation, comprising financial institutions, financial industry associations, relevant professional service agencies and experts of the financial sectors from Asian countries and regions on a voluntary basis.
The launch of the FinTech Cooperation Committee was witnessed by 150 industry leaders, including representatives of regulators from Singapore, Japan, UAE, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, the UK, the US, Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and other countries or regions, international organisations, industry associations, financial institutions, universities, FTCC member institutions and the press.