Breaking News! Hong Kong and Shenzhen jointly release a three-year action plan targeting the global fintech center

Aiming to become a global financial technology hub.

On November 19, the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Shenzhen Local Financial Supervision and Administration jointly released the “Action Plan for Building Hong Kong-Shenzhen as a Global Financial Technology Center (2025–2027)” (referred to as the “Action Plan”). The plan clarifies that over the next three years, both regions will focus on six key areas to deepen collaboration in financial technology, jointly building a globally competitive fintech industry ecosystem, and injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of finance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Focusing on Entity Clustering and Technological Innovation to Strengthen Industry Foundations

The Action Plan proposes to prioritize attracting and cultivating financial technology entities, aiming to establish research, evaluation, and other centers under national financial regulatory agencies in both regions. It encourages Hong Kong payment institutions to set up cross-border payment technology service providers in Shenzhen and to nurture a batch of digitally mature, specialized, and innovative fintech companies. Additionally, it supports qualified financial institutions in establishing global fintech headquarters in Hong Kong, leveraging the Fintech Outbound Alliance to expand international markets and serve the digital transformation needs of countries along the Belt and Road.

In terms of technological innovation, both regions will increase support for fundamental fintech technologies and core underlying innovations. They encourage universities and enterprises to co-build laboratories and cross-border research institutions to explore applications of AI and other technologies in finance. By subsidizing computing power vouchers, they aim to reduce enterprise costs for intelligent computing resources. Relying on strategic platforms like Qianhai and Hetao, they will explore cross-border financial data flow mechanisms, deepen pilot projects for cross-border credit reporting and data verification platforms, and help enterprises lower cross-border financing costs.

Collaborating on the “Five Major Articles” to Broaden Application Scenarios

The Action Plan aligns with the requirements of the “Five Major Articles,” promoting deep integration of financial technology with multiple sectors. In the tech-finance field, it supports Shenzhen tech companies in leveraging Hong Kong’s listing channels and promotes innovative services like “Tech Startup Pass.” In green finance, it deepens the application of corporate carbon accounts, promotes the “Carbon Reduction Loan” model, and supports offshore RMB bonds for sustainable development issued in Hong Kong. In digital inclusive finance, digital empowerment is used to optimize financing services for small and micro enterprises, expanding coverage of products like “Xinyi Loan” and “Micro Pass,” and innovating in “Decentralized Chain Lending” business models.

Simultaneously, efforts are underway in pension finance and specialized scenario development. Financial institutions are encouraged to develop dedicated pension loan products and personalized pension financial services, advancing digital financial aging-friendly upgrades. The promotion of digital RMB applications will be expanded across retail, transportation, and trade sectors in both regions, exploring smart contract applications and building demonstration scenarios. Additionally, sharing of government and financial data will be promoted, with Shenzhen’s Data Exchange exploring innovative services such as data asset trusts and intellectual property pledge financing.

Optimizing the Regulatory Ecosystem and Strengthening Support

To create a favorable development environment, both regions will deepen innovative regulatory pilot cooperation, utilizing cross-border fintech regulatory tools and connectivity mechanisms, expanding pilot applications. They will enhance regulatory technology, optimize financial risk monitoring and early warning systems, and explore AI applications in dynamic full-chain supervision to achieve early risk identification, early warning, and early intervention. Furthermore, they will improve fintech governance systems by integrating ethical review into the entire enterprise development process to regulate industry orderly growth.

In terms of ecosystem building, talent policies will be implemented to attract urgently needed professionals, improving the “Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Fintech Talent Program.” Various activities such as digital finance forums and achievement exhibitions will be held to deepen exchanges and cooperation with global financial centers. Three key support measures—strengthening organizational leadership, policy coordination, and publicity—will ensure the effective implementation of all tasks, helping to establish a distinctive fintech brand characteristic of Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

The release of this Action Plan marks a new phase of systematic and normalized cooperation in fintech between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages as an international financial center and Shenzhen’s vibrant technological innovation, the two regions will complement each other’s resources and strengths, accelerate the gathering of fintech elements, enhance global resource allocation capabilities, and provide replicable and promotable “Hong Kong-Shenzhen experience” for nationwide fintech innovation and development.