On August 26, the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) launched the 5th DIT FinTech Awards at the flagship UK event during the Smart China Expo 2019, the First UK-China Future Intelligence Forum.

As one of the Countries of Honour, the UK sent an extensive business delegation to visit Chongqing to join the Expo. The UK delegation consists of over 40 companies from a wide range of sectors, including technology, Infrastructure, Advanced Manufacturing, Transport, Culture, and Education. The companies range from innovative startups to well-known multinational companies and include DIT’s SCE event partners, Sage and Micro Focus, as well as the official UK pavilion design partner, Chapman Taylor.

The British National Pavilion

 

The First UK-China Future Intelligence Forum is jointly organized by DIT, Chongqing Cloud Computing, and Big Data Industry Association and CBBC.
Focusing on cutting-edge technology in big data and AI, the UK and Chinese speakers shared their understanding and innovative practice of smart cities development in both countries. They also discussed the opportunities, uncertainties, and challenges that AI will bring to smart cities and explored the potential of the UK-China collaboration in future urban planning, smart ecosystem development, and the application of smart technologies. The forum provided an excellent opportunity to meet the UK delegation in a business matching and networking session.
Graham Stuart, DIT Minister for Investment, launched the 5th DIT FinTech Awards at the forum. This year’s competition to support companies in establishing operations in the UK, will for the first time extend beyond the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong to cover the whole of Mainland China. It offers businesses from Mainland China and Hong Kong an exciting opportunity to explore the UK’s world-leading FinTech ecosystem.
This year’s awards are sponsored by Slaughter & May, the University of Glasgow & FNZ alongside partners from Scottish Development International, London and Partners, Marriott Hotels and Cathay Pacific. 
The UK is the leading global FinTech hub with a thriving ecosystem and international talent pool spanning the whole country. Contributing approximately ￡7 Billion to the UK economy annually and employing more than 76,500 people in over 1,600 companies, the UK FinTech sector is fast-becoming an engine of growth for the broader economy. Bringing together a diverse pipeline of highly-skilled talent, innovation, proactive regulation, as well as a large concentration of financial and professional firms, the UK continues to attract significant interest and investment into FinTech. Indeed, recent figures show that UK FinTech investment increased by 18% to $3.3bn in 2018, accounting for 68% of the $4.8 billion in Europe, with this pace set to continue into 2019.
With an increasing number of FinTech firms exporting globally from the UK, we are continuing to set the global standard on the application of technology, and more broadly, innovation in financial services. To support such international ambitions, the UK has entered into five FinTech Bridge agreements with other FinTech hubs: Singapore, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Australia. These bespoke agreements unlock valuable opportunities for UK businesses by tackling barriers to entry in international markets and connecting them with opportunities for global investment.