The Hong Kong Trade Development Council is frequently conducting research on markets, trends and much more. The following two reports concerns opportunities in Sweden and the Nordic’s in Fintech and Healthcare sectors.
1) FinTech Developments
Nordic countries lead in many financial innovations, such as e-banking, e-invoicing, digital wallets, mobile money and ‘cryptocurrencies’. The Nordic financial technology, or ‘FinTech’ industry has been fast developing into the region’s most popular investment.
Accounting for a lion’s share of FinTech start-up investments in the Nordics, Sweden is the third largest hub in Europe. In other words, Nordic people have become adept, frequent internet users and early adopters of e-services, making them ready targets for FinTech developers. With respect to the Nordic’s vibrant FinTech scene, Hong Kong may serve as a risk manager, assisting these companies in screening prospective investors from the Chinese mainland and other parts of Asia.
Sharing many similarities with the Nordics, Hong Kong – as a free, well-connected and competitive economy, is consistently achieving top rankings in e-readiness and internet access capabilities. By representing Nordic FinTech start-ups and helping them find partners in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong’s financial services companies can be ideal facilitators of Sino-Nordic FinTech projects.
2) Healthcare Services
Population ageing and rising public healthcare spending are increasingly becoming issues of concern throughout the world, forcing governments into reforming public healthcare services. As a world-leading region for innovation and technology, the Nordic countries are forerunners in e-Health, which promotes electronic communication between patients and the healthcare system. Hong Kong further faces similar compounding challenges of ageing population, rising expectations and escalating medical costs. There is therefore vast room for cooperation between Hong Kong and the Nordic countries in public healthcare services delivery, e-Health application and other innovative medical solutions.
By working closely with Nordic healthcare start-ups and helping them to find partners and clients from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong can be an ideal enabler of Sino/Asian-Nordic HealthTech application and collaboration. Meanwhile, Hong Kong can be a disinterested risk controller, assisting Nordic HealthTech companies in screening prospective investors from the Chinese mainland and other parts of Asia.