ENG-2019 — Page 116

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Financial and Monetary Affairs

participates in the AllB on its own using the name 'Hong Kong, China, showcasing the principle of 'one country, two systems.

Hong Kong's capital markets and professional and financial services are well-positioned to support the AllB's operation. The AllB has awarded US$4.8 million of corporate procurement contracts to professional service providers in Hong Kong since 2017.

Asian Development Bank

Hong Kong is a member of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), an MDB working to reduce poverty in the Asia-Pacific region by providing its members with loans, grants and technical assistance to undertake development activities. Hong Kong participates in the ADB on its own. using the name 'Hong Kong, China, showcasing the principle of 'one country, two systems.

As an international financial centre, Hong Kong is well-positioned to contribute to the ADB's efforts in bridging the financing gap in the region. In 2019, the city's capital markets raised the equivalent of some US$366 million under the ADB's Global Medium-term Note Programme.

HKMA Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office

The Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office facilitates investments and financing of sustainable infrastructure and green development by working with key stakeholders, thereby raising Hong Kong's international profile as an infrastructure and green financing centre. The office maintains an effective collaborative network of key stakeholders, having welcomed 95 organisations from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas as partners by end-2019.

Belt and Road Insurance Exchange Facilitation

The IA's Belt and Road Insurance Exchange Facilitation, launched in 2018, aims to help B&R project owners and investors map out their risk management and insurance needs and identify insurance solutions, to promote intelligence exchange on risk management and insurance, and to forge alliances. Forty-one insurers, reinsurers, captive insurers, insurance brokers and law firms had joined as members by end-2019.

Financial Technologies

With the joint effort of the government, financial regulators and industry players, the local financial technology (fintech) ecology is increasingly vibrant. Some 600 fintech companies and start-ups are operating in Hong Kong, including renowned innovation laboratories and accelerator programmes such as Accenture Fintech Innovation Lab and Deloitte Asia Pacific Blockchain Lab.

In November, Invest Hong Kong organised the fourth Hong Kong Fintech Week, which included a Shenzhen Day, attracting some 12,000 attendees from over 60 economies.

HKMA Fintech Initiatives

The HKMA facilitates the banking sector's development and adoption of the Open Application Programming Interface (Open API) according to the four-phase approach of the Open API Framework. Twenty retail banks opened up some 500 Open API endpoints in January under

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