The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has signed a co-operative agreement with the Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) by which they might both promote financial IT in each other's jurisdictions.

Like its predecessors, the co-operative agreement is a statement of intent rather than a legally binding document. It does, however, make it plain that any information divulged by one regulator to another in relation to it should be treated as confidential. Regulator A can only send information about an IT firm to Regulator B if that IT firm has agreed to it doing so.

The FRSA opened (its propaganda uses the word 'launched') its 'regulatory laboratory' in November 2016 to provide a controlled environment in which IT firms (which it calls 'innovator businesses') can develop and test software that might promote efficiency and increase the number of choices for investors. This allows the FRSA to develop regulations in the area. The SFC, meanwhile, established the 'FinTech contact point' in March 2016 with the aim of informing the FinTech world about the financial regulatory regime.

The agreement has its own definition of 'financial technologies' or FinTech: "a variety of business models and emerging technologies that have the potential to supplement or disrupt the financial services industry." It explains helpfully that "innovative FinTech business models" typically offer one or more specific financial product(s) or service(s) in an automated fashion through the use of the Internet. Examples include robo-advisors and platforms for investment, trading, peer-to-peer lending and equity crowdfunding. Emerging technologies include Big Data analysis, congitive computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence and distributed ledger technology.

If either of the signatories wants to pull out of the agreement, this will not affect the long-standing memorandum of understanding that the two regulators have with each other.