Asia’s fragmented regulatory landscape hobbling expansion of fintech firms

HONG KONG (June 9): Asia's competitiveness in fintech is being undermined by the rivalry among the region's financial centres that has created regulatory complexity and uncertainty, a financial lobby group has warned.

Governments across Asia - most notably Hong Kong and Singapore - have launched a raft of initiatives to grab a slice of the  US$100 billion ($138 billion) invested in financial technology globally but the regulatory hodge-podge is making it tough for firms to scale up, the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) said in a report on Friday.

“The regulatory landscape is very fragmented and a lot of the initiatives, though well-intentioned, are not necessarily well thought through," said Mark Austen, CEO of ASIFMA.

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