On May 16th, the opening ceremony of the Belt & Road Fintech Advanced Program was grandly held. Fintech regulators and practitioners from Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand gathered at the PBC School of Finance (PBCSF), Tsinghua University where they will study and communicate with Chinese fintech entrepreneurs during the next 10 days. Executive Associate Dean Liao Li made opening remarks. The opening ceremony was hosted by Cai Kan, Deputy Director of the Executive Education Center.
Professor Liao Li extended a warm welcome to the new students on behalf of Tsinghua University and introduced the history, development, and educational philosophy of PBCSF. He mentioned that, based on 6 years of fintech research and the experience of the B&R EMBA program, Tsinghua PBCSF launched the Belt & Road FinTech Advanced Program, building a dynamic learning platform for China and Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurs and investors,
Liu Caofeng, EMBA 2018 student and co-founder as well as CTO of Rong 360, made remarks as an alumni representative. Liu introduced the development of Rong 360 and China’s achievements in the fintech industry. He mentioned that China has achieved remarkable achievements in the fields of cashless society, technology-driven online lending and internet insurance. At present, Chinese companies have gained competitive advantages in terms of streamlining infrastructure, automating high-value activities, reducing intermediation, leveraging data, creating specializing products and empowering customers. China has hatched a number of outstanding companies in the segments of fintech industry, and has produced fintech giants that have developed across different fields. Liu concluded that the “Belt and Road” initiative and the development of fintech would bring a better future for China and the countries along the “Belt and Road”.
Emilio Benito Aquino, Commissioner of Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines, introduced the development of fintech in the Philippines. He pointed out that the population of Philippines stands at 106 million and 63% of which are internet users, with e-commerce penetration at 39%. In terms of time spent on social media, the Philippines comes first with an average of 3h 57m per day. All these augur well for fintech initiatives in Philippines. Emilio Benito Aquino expressed his great admiration for the rapid development of China's fintech industry and fintech regulation and hopes to learn from China in order to promote fintech in the Philippines. He stated that the Philippines benefits from the “Belt and Road” initiative in employment, infrastructure, fintech, etc. Emilio Benito Aquino said that he felt honored to study at PBCSF and welcomed everyone to come to Philippines.
