The two-day main conference of the Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival 2025 concluded today.

Running from November 3 to 4, the event brought together government officials, regulators, fintech innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders from around the world for a series of forward-looking panels, keynote speeches and policy discussions.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of both Hong Kong FinTech Week and the StartmeupHK Festival, a testament to Hong Kong’s commitment to advancing the digital economy and strengthening its position as a global centre for fintech and startup growth.

Officiating at the opening of the main conference, Chief Executive John Lee said: “Hong Kong is made for collaboration and built for innovation - for companies, entrepreneurs, investors and professionals.”

In this year’s World Investment Report, Hong Kong moved up to third place overall in foreign direct investment inflows. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s fundraising achievements at initial public offerings underlined the city’s revitalised status as the world’s premier listing and capital-raising venue.

Mr Lee highlighted: “These and other international kudos reflect Hong Kong’s status as a 'super connector' and a 'super value-adder'. We help to link the markets from China, our country, with those around the globe. We help startups go from local prototypes to global success.”

At a panel discussion, Financial Secretary Paul Chan shared his views on Hong Kong’s strategic vision for financial innovation, emphasising the vast potential of digitalisation as well as the role of the city’s regulators in enabling this.

Separately, in a keynote speech on day two, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau noted that over the past decade, Hong Kong's startup ecosystem nearly tripled to 4,700, showing a year-on-year increase of 10%.

“The city’s entrepreneurial spirit, global connectivity and cross-border synergies make it a fertile ground for innovative ideas to grow and industries to transform,” Mr Yau remarked.

The integration of the StartmeupHK Festival with Hong Kong FinTech Week this year created a mega platform for entrepreneurs and investors to connect. Startups across Asia, the Chinese Mainland, Europe and the Middle East joined pitching sessions, venture showcases and ecosystem dialogues, enabling direct engagement with global venture capital and corporate innovation teams. The main conference featured 11 themed forums, spanning topics from artificial intelligence, digital assets, healthtech to innovation.

Affiliated events will be held across the city through November 7.