Tsai promotes Taiwan’s financial sector at FinTech Taipei

From Taiwan Today

2019-12-02

New Southbound Policy。President Tsai Ing-wen (front, seventh left) is all smiles alongside officials and business representatives at FinTech Taipei Nov. 29 at Taipei World Trade Center in the nation’s capital. (Courtesy of Presidential Office)

President Tsai Ing-wen (front, seventh left) is all smiles alongside officials and business representatives at FinTech Taipei Nov. 29 at Taipei World Trade Center in the nation’s capital. (Courtesy of Presidential Office)

President Tsai Ing-wen said Nov. 29 that the government is fast-tracking technological development of the local financial industry as part of efforts to transform Taiwan into a center for enterprise capital and high-end asset management in Asia.

Fintech has become the focus of the local financial sector over recent years, Tsai said. Taiwan-based firms invested NT$11.7 billion (US$384 million) on related initiatives in 2018, up 52 percent year on year, she added.

Tsai made the remarks during the opening ceremony of FinTech Taipei at Taipei World Trade Center in the nation’s capital.

According to Tsai, the government has implemented several policies in response to the latest fintech developments like blockchain, online banks and mobile payments. Other measure include the passing of the Financial Technology Development and Innovative Experimentation Act as well as establishment of Taipei City-based FinTechSpace, she said.

The former provides a regulatory sandbox system for fintech startups to develop and test out their products or services without endangering the rights of consumers while the latter is organized by the Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission to stimulate innovation as the country’s first fintech-focused coworking space.

Tsai said the government’s measures to loosen restrictions on remittance and capital flows between domestic and overseas banking units will complement the growth of local wealth management services. This is expected to attract more homebound investment as well as high-net-worth individuals and multinational organizations.

Another upcoming undertaking is a national financial guarantee system for major economic development projects, Tsai said, adding this will encourage domestic firms to take on large-scale financing projects and bolster the portfolios of local institutions.

Launched last year, FinTech Taipei is the largest event of its kind in Taiwan. The 2019 edition featured an expo, speeches, panel discussions and start-up demos. (YCH-E)

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