On July 16, Dr. Lo Kam Wing, President of the Hong Kong Chinese Manufacturers' Association, led a delegation of 30 members to visit the National Financial Standardization Research Institute (Financial Standards Institute) in Beijing. The purpose of this visit was to gain an in-depth understanding of the Institute's experiences and plans in promoting national financial standardization, particularly in building the Global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) system. The discussions focused on how the Hong Kong industry can leverage financial technology standardization to deepen cooperation and seize opportunities amid the integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This aligns with Director Xia Baolong's call to accelerate integration in the Greater Bay Area and enhance the deep integration of traditional business with financial technology.
The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Dr. Lo Kam Wing, President (third from left), Executive Vice President Ma Kai Yum (second from left), NIFS General Manager Zhou Chongxi (third from the right), Certizen Technology CEO Chan Yuen Wah (second from right), Legal Entity Identifier China Regional Manager Zhang Yanzhao (first from the right), The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong Vice President Ng Kwok On (first from the left) took a group photo with members of the visiting delegation from the Manufacturers' Association to commemorate the occasion.
The aim is to harness the mainland's strong technological capabilities and vast application scenarios and data resources to drive innovative applications of technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain in areas such as cross-border payments and risk management. This will further strengthen the infrastructure for financial technology, expand the application areas and scope of cross-border fast payment systems, and enhance connectivity with both domestic and international markets, creating new growth points for Hong Kong's trade development through financial innovation.
As a long-term strategic partner of the Financial Standards Institute, Certizen Technology played a key bridging role in this meeting. General Manager Zhou Chongxi and others from the Institute participated in the discussions.
Chan Yuen Wah, founder and CEO of Certizen Technology, spoke at the meeting in her dual capacity as a member of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association and as an authorized representative of the Financial Standards Institute, stating: "In response to Director Xia Baolong's call for accelerated integration in the Greater Bay Area, the LEI and its verifiable version (vLEI) are becoming the core engine for facilitating cross-border flows of people, goods, and capital."
Conference site
During the interactive session, leaders from the Financial Standards Institute, Certizen Technology, and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) provided introductions about the development of the Financial Standards Institute and the LEI both domestically and globally. They discussed empirical cases demonstrating how LEI technology empowers various sectors in the Greater Bay Area, including education, healthcare, cross-border trade, and supply chain financing. They emphasized that cross-border digital trust is essential for achieving deep integration and connectivity in the Greater Bay Area, allowing Hong Kong to leverage its unique advantage of being "backed by the motherland and connected to the world," as well as its role in promoting the region as a “super connector” serving the globe, which sparked enthusiastic questions from attendees.
Certizen Technology will collaborate with the Financial Standards Institute to accelerate the promotion of the LEI coding system, aiming to eliminate technical application barriers and ensure that trustworthy systems are "affordable, understandable, and effective" for companies in the Greater Bay Area, thus forging a core competitive advantage for them in the digital age. This meeting marks a new phase in the large-scale practice of financial standardization supporting the integration of the Greater Bay Area.