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Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival 2025: United for decade of innovation and scaling
The entire week attracted a record high of over 45 000 visitors from over 120 economies and featured over 1 000 distinguished speakers, over 800 exhibitors and more than 30 Chinese Mainland and international delegations. The event was organised by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and the Insurance Authority (IA), and the appointed event organiser, Finoverse.
Celebrating a decade of excellence
As the inaugural convergence of the two flagship events, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, officiated at the opening of the main conference. The main conference showcased 11 themed forums. These included the Policy Forum, Visionary Forum, InsurTech Forum, HealthTech Forum, Wealth & Investment Management Forum, Digital Finance Forum, Digital Assets Forum, Blockchain & Web3 Forum, AI & Advanced Tech Forum, China-Global Innovation Forum, and TechX Forum.
Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Mr Lu Lei, attended the main conference and highlighted the fintech collaboration between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, which has driven advancements such as interoperable cross-boundary payments and e-CNY use cases, unlocking new efficiencies. He emphasised the importance of payment innovation promoting connectivity and fostering integrated economic development between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong. This comes as China charts its 15th Five-Year Plan and reaffirms Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre.
Mr Lu noted the continuous expansion of the RMB Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) in Hong Kong, including the launch of Hong Kong dollar clearing services as well as southbound and northbound fund settlement functions under Bond Connect.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, delivered a keynote address and participated in a panel discussion moderated by the Director-General of Investment Promotion of InvestHK, Ms Alpha Lau. Joining Mr Chan on the panel were the Group Chief Executive of HSBC, Mr Georges Elhedery, and the Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, Mr Bill Winters. With around 1 200 fintech companies in Hong Kong, Mr Chan shared three key observations from the journey in building a vibrant fintech ecosystem – financial inclusion as an objective, regulators as enablers of innovation, and responsible and sustainable innovation.
At the panel discussion “Curating the New FinTech Era”, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, highlighted blockchain and AI as the transformative technologies for Hong Kong’s financial services. Mr Hui also noted the important role that regulatory sandboxes and subsidy programmes play in the city’s fintech ecosystem. They are not only the crucial driver in cultivating innovation but also conducive to obtaining valuable views and feedback from the market for better review and enhancement to existing policy and regulatory frameworks.
The President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Mr Jin Liqun, attended the Main Conference and shared insights on how financial innovation can help maintain and support nature and ecological conservation. He remarked, “Once we can verify nature as an asset, we can make it investable. We can digitise and scale it to make it sustainable in the long run.” He also announced the AIIB’s plan to set up an office in Hong Kong to address its growing business needs.
Charging ahead with heart: policy and ecosystem perspectives
The Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, engaged in an in-depth dialogue with ex-Chairman of Meitu and Angel Investor Mr Cai Wensheng at the Main Conference. Mr Chan detailed Hong Kong’s latest growth in the digital asset space. Mr Chan stated that “The Government is promoting the development of digital asset in a sustainable and responsible manner. As Asia’s leading international financial centre, in June 2025, we issued the Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets in Hong Kong, reinforcing its commitment to establishing Hong Kong as a global hub for innovation in the digital asset field.”
The Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Ms Lillian Cheong, in a video speech, outlined the Government’s strategic investments in I&T (innovation and technology) infrastructure, talent and industry development, with a view to fostering a vibrant I&T ecosystem in the city and build Hong Kong into a new real economy. She pointed out that the Government strives to consolidate Hong Kong’s strengths in I&T through a series of support measures by better co-ordinating the upstream, midstream and downstream development. She extended a sincere invitation to fintech companies and start-ups to leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantages that underpins its status as a global innovation hub and set up or expand businesses in the city.
The Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, delivered a keynote speech on Hong Kong’s environmental and sustainability achievements to date, highlighting the pivotal role played by technological innovation under decarbonisation strategies. “To combat climate change effectively, we need to adopt appropriate measures on climate adaptation and resilience, to protect life and property of our people from the extreme weather events. AI and robots are playing an increasingly important role in these areas,” she said.
Miss Wong added that the Government attaches importance to adopting innovation technologies in its work. She quoted the example of the Hong Kong Observatory, which has been running several AI models to support operational forecasting such as tropical cyclone track forecasting since mid-2023. The AI models have successfully forecast several tropical cyclones this year, to an accuracy better than traditional weather prediction models.
Shaping the future of finance through digital transformation and trust
The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue, outlined the four strategic pillars of the HKMA’s “Fintech 2030” vision: Data and Payment Infrastructure, AI, Resilience, and Tokenisation, collectively known as “DART”. He stated that this strategy aims to establish Hong Kong as a robust, resilient, and future-ready fintech hub, detailing how each pillar will drive the next chapter of fintech in the city. Reflecting on the evolution of Hong Kong’s fintech landscape over the past decade, he introduced the strategy for the upcoming Fintech 3.0 era, characterised by technology embedded in daily life, underpinned by trust, transparency, and intelligence to create a real-world impact and lasting resilience.
Mr Yue also noted AI’s transition from an experimental phase to a significant innovation driver, with over three-quarters of the city’s banks implementing or piloting AI solutions. He emphasised the importance of deeper collaboration across the industry to develop a shared and scalable AI infrastructure that would benefit the banking industry. He reaffirmed that tokenisation remains a key priority and highlighted the role of the HKMA as an enabler and facilitator in building an interoperable and trusted network, which will lay the foundation for a vibrant tokenised asset market. Lastly, Mr Yue stressed that resilience involves not just withstanding shocks, but being secure, adaptive, and future-ready in the face of new innovations.
The Chief Executive Officer of the SFC, Ms Julia Leung, opened the fireside chatby highlighting two new circulars to be issued that day (November 3). These allow Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs) to share a global order book with their overseas affiliates, connecting the Hong Kong market with global liquidity. The circulars also expand VATPs’ service and product offerings in all types of digital assets.
Ms Leung also discussed the recent joint consultations by the SFC and Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau on the regulatory framework for virtual asset dealers and custodians, noting positive feedback received. She revealed plans to extend the licensing regime to include virtual asset advisory and management, with discussions underway with the Government. The new custody regime will focus on managing risks linked to private keys. The SFC expects to license only the most robust and reliable players to ensure a secure environment.
The Chief Executive Officer of the IA, Mr Clement Cheung, emphasised that the key takeaway from the technological advances in the past few years is that “development is paramount but has to be balanced with regulation”. He acknowledged the rapid progress in technology development within the insurance industry, generative AI and blockchain for example, as “breathtaking”. Taking a dual approach in balancing regulation and development to foster sustainability, he highlighted a series of milestone initiatives of the IA that promote the adoption of advanced technologies and strengthen operational resilience of the industry, including the Open API Framework, the Cyber Resilience Assessment Framework, and the AI Cohort Programme. He also announced the publication of the Whitepaper on Federated Learning.
Mr Cheung stressed that as the insurance sector evolves, regulators must navigate in a balanced and enlightened manner to promote inclusive and responsible innovation.
Collaboration is key: redefining the innovation frontier
Frontier technology, from biotech and fintech to AI and Web3, was the centre of celebration as companies and start-ups took to various stages and panels to discuss what they have been able to achieve in the space.
Nobel Laureate in Physics, Professor Emeritus of the University of Toronto, Mr Geoffrey Hinton, shared at the event the future of AI. Professor Hinton introduced his groundbreaking “Mother AI” theory, emphasising the importance of ensuring AI genuinely cares for humanity rather than replacing it. He outlined strategies to mitigate AI-related risks and highlighted opportunities to foster innovation aligned with human values amid rapid technological advancement, while underscoring Asia’s key role in driving AI innovation.
Co-founder and Managing Partner of DST Global Mr John Lindfors and the Founding Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, Mr Duane Kuang, joined the forum session to exchange insights on how disruptive technologies are reshaping global growth opportunities. They shared perspectives on the rapid maturation of innovation – from AI and biotech to digital assets – into scalable, investable markets, and highlighted how new investment vehicles are opening greater access for investors worldwide.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Templeton, Ms Jenny Johnson, predicted that the next wave of major companies will emerge from the AI and crypto innovation. She emphasised that while AI and blockchain are transformative, the biggest challenge is organisational change management, where start-ups adapt faster than incumbents. Ms Johnson noted that current AI investment gains are concentrated among infrastructure providers such as chipmakers and cloud services, but future growth will come as firms learn to expand margins using AI. She also highlighted real-world crypto and NFT (non-fungible token) applications, such as luxury goods authentication and bandwidth sharing, and praised Hong Kong’s progressive blockchain regulation as a model for innovation.
The President of the Solana Foundation, Ms Lily Liu, discussed how digital asset treasury (DATs) and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) are complementary tools for traditional investors, but stressed the need to filter them for long-term quality amid speculative cycles. She highlighted how the evolution of technologies such as stablecoins reflects a broader transformation in financial infrastructure, where decentralised platforms increasingly play a central role in profit generation and capital flow. On another panel, Co-Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation Mr Tomasz Stańczak, emphasised stablecoins’ role in improving cross-border payments and driving institutional interest in tokenised assets.
During the main conference, a series of curated media tours highlighted Hong Kong’s role as a global financial and innovation hub. Key moments included exclusive sessions with Chinese Mainland tech giants. Tencent introduced its vision for cross-boundary payment services; WeBank focused on HQ-driven innovation; and Ant Digital Technologies underscored Hong Kong’s strategic advantages for global expansion and cutting-edge fintech solutions. Other tours showcased Hong Kong as a “super connector” for emerging markets with delegations led by the Dubai International Financial Centre and the National Innovation Agency of Thailand. Another tour positioned Hong Kong as a launch pad for Chinese Mainland firms to go global, featuring the Shenzhen Financial Techology Association and the Zhongguancun Financial Technology Industry Development Alliance.
Marking the conclusion of the HKFW x SMUF 2025, Ms Lau, said, “The unprecedented success of the HKFW x SMUF 2025 speaks volumes about the vibrancy, depth and resilience of our financial innovation and start-up ecosystem. We are grateful to all our partners, speakers and participants from around the world who came together to make this our largest and most impactful edition yet. As we look to the next decade, InvestHK remains steadfast in our commitment to connect global companies with Hong Kong’s dynamic ecosystem, empowering them to scale across Asia and beyond, driving innovation, commercialisation, and creating more cross-border collaboration opportunities.”
For more details and highlights from HKFW x SMUF 2025, please visit www.fintechweek.hk, or follow via the official social media accounts:
LinkedIn: Hong Kong FinTech Week; and
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/HongKongFinTechWeek.Hashtag: #HKFW #SMUF
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
- SNP builds on Palantir platforms to deliver new AI-powered solutions for solving mission-critical customer challenges
- The partnership will build on SNP’s strong base with more than 3,000 customers globally and 15,000 successful SAP transformation projects
- SNP and Palantir will leverage their strengths to help customers modernize their SAP landscapes and business processes in a predictable and secure way
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 July 2026 – SNP SE, a leading provider of software for AI-enabled digital transformation, automated data migration and data management in the SAP environment, and Palantir, a global leader in artificial intelligence and data platforms, today announced a strategic partnership at SNP’s flagship event, Transformation World, in Heidelberg, Germany. The collaboration positions SNP to develop new AI-powered solutions with an aligned approach to accelerate SAP transformations for joint customers.
The two partners will offer solutions for mission-critical challenges across all types of SAP projects, helping customers improve speed, efficiency and quality. The first joint solution, Test Data Proposal, solves a so far highly manual area of SAP migrations, the identification of relevant test data for given customer test cases. By leveraging AI, this process runs automatically and saves customers’ time and resources. Test Data Proposal will expand SNP’s proven Kyano® platform.
As part of the partnership, SNP and Palantir are also collaborating in large-scale moves to SAP Cloud ERP applications where customers seek to accelerate these modernization programs. Both companies combine complementary, category-leading strengths. SNP contributes deep real-world SAP data migration expertise while Palantir provides state-of-the-art AI-driven software platforms, which enable and accelerate secure modernizations for customers.
“Organizations are looking for new ways to increase speed, efficiency, and quality in large-scale SAP transformations,” said Jens Amail, CEO of SNP. “We are hugely excited to collaborate with Palantir, a company that has leveraged AI to revolutionize and accelerate the way enterprises modernize mission-critical systems and automate operations. Together, we will deliver secure outcomes and new solutions to customers and partners.”
“We have seen exceptional momentum accelerating SAP migrations for customers, and helping them do so via the Ontology and AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) in a way that significantly compresses the timeline and delivers operational value along the way,” said Sameer Kirtane, Head of US Commercial at Palantir. “SNP over the last 30 years has built an impressive track record of delivering predictable, compliant and auditable outcomes in thousands of successful engagements. We are proud to partner with SNP to fundamentally rethink how customers transform their SAP landscapes.”
Hashtag: #SNP #Palantir #SAP #AI
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About SNP
SNP (ticker: SHF.DE) is the global technology platform leader and trusted partner for companies seeking unparalleled data-enabled transformation capabilities and business agility. SNP’s Kyano® platform integrates all necessary capabilities and partner offerings to provide a comprehensive software-based experience in data migration and management. Combined with the Bluefield® approach, Kyano sets a comprehensive industry standard for restructuring and modernizing enterprise data faster and more securely while harnessing AI-driven innovations based on over 30 years of experience.
The company works with more than 3,000 customers of all sizes and in all industries in over 80 countries, including numerous DAX 40 and Fortune 500 companies. The SNP Group has more than 1,600 employees worldwide at over 34 locations in 22 countries. The company is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, and generated revenues of around EUR 297 million in the 2025 fiscal year.
More information is available at www.snpgroup.com
About Palantir
Foundational software of tomorrow. Delivered today.
Additional information is available at https://www.palantir.com
Palantir Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements may relate to, but are not limited to, Palantir’s expectations regarding the amount and the terms of the contract and the expected benefits of Palantir’s software platforms. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and were based on current expectations as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management as of that time with respect to future events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond Palantir’s control. These risks and uncertainties include the ability to meet the unique needs of customers; the failure of Palantir’s platforms to satisfy customers or perform as desired; the frequency or severity of any software and implementation errors; Palantir’s platforms’ reliability; and customers’ ability to modify or terminate the contract. Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in the filings Palantir makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Palantir’s forward-looking statements speak only as to Palantir, and Palantir assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any forward-looking statements made by any other party. Except as required by law, Palantir does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.
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Cambodian secondary school championing environmental practices wins US$15,000 AIA Outstanding Health & Sustainability Award 2026
Now in its fourth year, the competition is a flagship initiative of the AIA Healthiest Schools programme (AHS), which empowers students aged 5 to 16 to embed healthy living into daily life across four key pillars: healthy eating, active living, mental wellbeing and sustainability.
Angchum Lower Secondary School was selected from nearly 1,000 entries across Asia-Pacific, the highest participation level since the programme’s launch, and was announced at a regional ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand.
The AIA Healthiest Schools Competition challenges schools to turn their best health and wellbeing ideas into practical action. By applying what they have learned to real-life issues, students are embedding healthy habits into daily life while creating positive impact within schools and across their wider communities.
Stuart A. Spencer, Head Judge of the AIA Healthiest Schools Competition and AIA Group Chief Marketing Officer, said:
“The AIA Healthiest Schools Competition is the largest programme of its kind in Asia and is helping young people take ownership of their health by turning knowledge into action.
“Congratulations to Angchum Lower Secondary School from Cambodia. Your shining example will inspire countless others across the region, shaping a healthier future for young people all over Asia.”
In his speech at the event, Mr. Lee Yuan Siong, AIA Group Chief Executive and President, said:
“What is most powerful about this programme is that it turns health from something students are taught into something they do every day.”
Hashtag: #AngchumLowerSecondarySchool
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About the school:
Angchum Lower Secondary School in Kampot, Cambodia, faced limited staff, plastic-heavy canteen habits, inadequate sanitation facilities for female students, and unreliable access to clean water. Despite these constraints, the teachers, students, and the surrounding community chose to prioritise improvements in daily health and hygiene practices.
Students led the effort through the “Plastic-Free School” campaign, bringing reusable bottles and lunch boxes to reduce waste. Each class formed a Green Youth Club responsible for tree planting, garden care, and maintaining clean classrooms. Regular hygiene awareness sessions supported all students—especially girls—in building healthier daily routines.
Teachers reinforced these actions by integrating lessons on waste segregation, personal hygiene, and environmental protection across subjects. They also modelled positive behaviours by avoiding plastic bags and joining campus clean-up activities.
Quarterly cleanups, contributions of saplings and compost, and assistance in repairing the school’s clean-water system deepened school-community cooperation.
A structured implementation process — teacher preparation, student lessons, community meetings, surveys, and interviews — helped the school track progress and adjust plans. As a result, students now demonstrate strong environmental knowledge, practice sustainable habits, and share a growing sense of responsibility.
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Keeper Security surpasses $225M in ARR with transformative growth and is emerging as the market standard for AI-native identity security
Compelling path to $1billion ARR and public offering, fueled by product market fit in the agentic AI age, explosion of identities and related threats, and accelerating growth
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 July 2026 – Keeper Security (“Keeper” or “we”), the identity security platform for humans, machines and AI agents, today announced a major milestone in its journey to become the market standard for AI-native identity security, having reached $225 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). Since 2021, Keeper’s ARR has grown over 3x.
Keeper protects over 95,000 organizations, which includes many Fortune 500 enterprises and public sector agencies. The company is quickly emerging as the market standard for AI-native identity security for enterprises globally with its leading zero-trust and zero-knowledge identity security platform. In 2025, leading analyst firm Gartner recognized Keeper as the second-fastest-growing security software competitor globally, second only to Google.* This recognition underscores Keeper’s rapid market expansion in addressing identity security challenges created by cloud transformation and artificial intelligence adoption across enterprise infrastructure and endpoints.
Keeper is now growing at over 4x the industry average.
This market-leading growth is driven by the explosion of identities in the agentic AI age and relentless focus on innovation to protect customers, as evidenced by the release of its unified privileged access management and identity security platform, KeeperPAM®, which protects both human and Non-Human Identities (NHIs), including service accounts, machine identities, databases, AI agents and agentic workloads. Since the launch of KeeperPAM in February 2025, KeeperPAM revenue has exhibited 10x year-over-year growth and Keeper has seen industry-leading new customer growth, adding an average of 850 new organizations every month. In the last fifteen months, Keeper added over 400 innovative features and products to KeeperPAM.
“Identity is the new security perimeter,” said Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-founder of Keeper Security. “As enterprises increasingly deploy AI agents and autonomous systems, the number of privileged identities and machine credentials is growing exponentially. Organizations need a modern, unified platform that secures every identity – human and non-human – and governs every privileged interaction. Our growth reflects the market’s demand for a platform purpose-built to address these challenges.”
Keeper’s cloud-native cybersecurity platform delivers a comprehensive approach to identity security and privileged access management by unifying enterprise password management, secrets management, privileged session management, database management and endpoint privilege management in a single platform. Keeper’s AI-native identity security strategy seamlessly extends these capabilities to non-human identities and agentic AI environments, enabling organizations to discover, manage and secure machine credentials and autonomous workloads with the same rigor applied to human users.
As enterprises adopt AI technologies at scale, the proliferation of non-human identities is rapidly outpacing that of human identities by 150:1, according to reports, thereby creating new attack surfaces and operational complexity. Keeper’s platform helps organizations establish identity-first security strategies that provide security, visibility, governance and least-privilege controls across their entire identity ecosystem.
“Autonomous agents, frontier LLMs and machine-to-machine workflows are operating inside enterprise environments right now – without adequate governance, secrets management or access controls,” said Craig Lurey, CTO and Co-founder of Keeper Security. “Keeper is purpose-built to solve this problem at scale.”
The company’s continued growth and market recognition reinforce its position as one of the cybersecurity industry’s most innovative and fastest-growing providers of AI-native identity security and privileged access management solutions. Keeper’s financial profile combines best-in-class growth, profitability and a debt-free capital structure and is an asset positioned to efficiently lead identity security in the agentic AI age.
“Surpassing $225 million in ARR confirms what we’ve heard in every enterprise conversation – that securing non-human identities is the defining security challenge of the AI era,” said Darren Guccione, CEO of Keeper Security. “We have established an accelerated path to $1 billion in ARR which, coupled with our technology roadmap, will provide optionality for a public offering.”
Source Citation:
Gartner, Market Share Analysis: Security Software, Worldwide, 2025, Rahul Yadav, Deepali, 11 May 2026
Gartner is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Business and Technology Insights Organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Hashtag: #KeeperSecurity
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Keeper Security
Keeper Security is the leading zero-trust and zero-knowledge identity security solution, trusted by millions of people and thousands of organizations globally. KeeperPAM® is Keeper’s privileged access management platform that unifies password and passkey management, secrets management, privileged session management and endpoint privilege management in a single cloud-native platform, protected with quantum-resistant encryption. KeeperAI delivers real-time, AI-native threat detection across every privileged session. As AI agents proliferate and identity becomes the defining attack surface, Keeper governs access for humans, machines, non-human identities and AI agents, serving as the unified control plane for access, compliance and visibility across the enterprise. For more information, visit
KeeperSecurity.com.
