UK FinTech Bridge to China

Today it is another significant milestone for the UK FinTech ecosystem as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) signed the Co-operation Agreement with the People's Bank of China.

The purpose of this agreement is to provide a framework for co-operation between the parties with respect to promoting innovation in financial services. The Agreement sets out how the parties plan to share and use information to promote innovation in their respective markets.

UK & China "FinTech Bridge" is aimed at strengthening regulatory co-operation and boosting market access for fintech startups in both UK and Chinese markets.

Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA said:"We are delighted to be signing a Co-operation Agreement with the People’s Bank of China, which will underpin a UK-China FinTech Bridge. The Co-operation Agreement will allow us to share information about financial services innovations in our respective markets, including emerging trends and regulatory issues.We hope that by strengthening links between the regulators, barriers to entry will be reduced and innovation encouraged in both countries’ financial services sectors."Eileen Burbidge a partner at Passion Capital and HM Treasury's special envoy for fintech welcomed the initiative with below remarks:"Today marks an important step on this journey as the UK government established a fintech bridge with one of the key priority international markets – China.China’s fintech sector has grown to a staggering size over the past few years. The alternative finance market alone is worth more than £98bn, it houses eight of the world’s 27 fintech unicorns and last year it received over £2bn worth of investment.Naturally, some of the UK’s most ambitious fintech companies want to explore opportunities and set up operations in China, while at the same time Chinese fintech giants and investors are increasingly looking to meet the demand for financial services in the UK.This new fintech bridge will streamline the dialogue between our two fintech sectors, making it easier for fintech to move across borders.I look forward to seeing the first UK fintech companies enter China and also to seeing increased Chinese investment in the UK sector as the benefits of the bridge come to fruition."

The above developments were part of the 8th annual UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) at Lancaster House in London. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammondestablished the groundwork on how the London-Shanghai Stock Connect will move forward. Stock Connect is part of a new long-term strategic plan for UK-China financial services cooperation agreed by EFD.

This strategic plan sets out how UK and China will work closely together to enhance co-operation and boost market access over the coming years focussing on eight key areas:

• Capital Markets
• Asset Management
• Insurance and Pensions
• Banking
• Green Finance
• FinTech
• China's Belt and Road Initiative
• Financial Inclusion

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:"Britain is open for business and we are strengthening our economic and financial ties with China, one of the world’s fastest growing economies.London-Shanghai Stock Connect is the first of its kind and it will further strengthen the financial ties between China and Britain, home to the world’s leading financial centre.It will bring mutual benefits. For the UK, the initiative will help to cement London’s position as the leading financial centre and open up new sources of investment. The initiative also marks an important milestone for China as it continues to open up its markets and liberalise its economy."