Why it matters: What we’re seeing in Hong Kong is a shift in how fintechs fund growth—more regional liquidity, a stronger IPO window, and rising demand for scalable banking infrastructure to support cross-border expansion.

Traditional financial institutions and high-growth technology ventures are redefining how they collaborate. Moving beyond vendor relationships, scaling fintechs increasingly need deep banking integration, institutional capital connectivity, and specialised growth debt to expand across border – without losing strategic momentum.

At the inaugural HSBC Asia Fintech Summit in Hong Kong, nearly 150 entrepreneurs, institutional investors and regulatory leaders gathered to address these needs.¹ Beyond main-stage discussions on AI deployment, embedded finance and digital assets, more than 40 structured corporate–investor meetings connected regional startups directly with strategic investors and corporate decision-makers.¹

These on-the-ground dynamics mirror the macro findings from HSBC Innovation Banking’s Innovation Horizons: Asia-Pacific (July 2026).² The report highlights Hong Kong SAR’s revived role as a gateway to mainland China and an increasingly important liquidity hub, as exit markets and capital flows continue to recalibrate from West to East.²

Hong Kong SAR is regaining momentum as a capital markets gateway. In Q1 2026, HKEX IPOs raised USD14bn, a nearly 500% year-on-year increase, supported by listing reforms and regulatory changes that enabled more mainland China firms to access Hong Kong’s public markets.²

At the same time, the region’s exit environment is becoming more domestically powered. In 2025, 82% of USD100m+ venture-backed acquisitions of Asia & Middle East startups were completed by acquirers based in the region, reflecting a clear shift in where strategic demand and liquidity are coming from.²

For founders, this changing landscape reinforces a practical reality: scaling isn’t only about raising equity. It also depends on the operating fundamentals banks can help enable—multi-currency treasury, liquidity management, FX risk, and structured growth debt that can extend runway while preserving ownership ahead of a strategic exit or IPO.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming core infrastructure for fintech scale—reshaping risk assessment, underwriting, customer servicing and product iteration speed. Horizons shows that AI’s share of venture activity has climbed sharply across APAC, with early indications that in Singapore and Australia/NZ, more than half of tech deals are now directed to AI-focused firms.² Mainland China continues to anchor regional AI funding, with its share spiking to roughly three-quarters of Asia & Middle East AI venture capital in the first half of 2026.²

However, scaling AI is not “just software”. It is increasingly constrained (or enabled) by access to compute, energy, and data centre capacity—all of which are becoming strategic assets in the AI supercycle.²

As Asia–Middle East connectivity expands, the summit discussions echoed a recurring theme: cross-border scaling runs on high-trust relationships, especially where regulation, data, and financial infrastructure intersect.¹

Two areas stood out:

Asia–Middle East corridors: Business models are becoming multi-dimensional, and long-term connectivity depends on trusted partnerships between financial centres.¹

Digital assets and tokenisation: Stablecoins and tokenised instruments are recognised for 24/7 liquidity and near-instant cross-border settlement, with industry focus on clearer regulatory frameworks and real-world corporate treasury use cases.¹

Market cycles change quickly; funding needs change even faster. By combining dedicated Innovation Banking coverage, growth financing and venture debt, and connectivity across investors, regulators and capital markets, HSBC Innovation Banking supports founders, scaleups and investors in turning regional insight into global execution.

To learn more, explore the Innovation Horizons: Asia-Pacific report and how we support growth-stage technology businesses across Asia-Pacific. Download the report: Innovation Horizons 2026: Asia-Pacific