Denny H Kalyalya: Zambian financial sector – responding to the needs of business Speech by Dr Denny H Kalyalya, Deputy Governor-Operations of the Bank of Zambia; at the opening of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Solwezi Branch, Solwezi, 10 December 2008. *  *  *  The Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Hon. Felix Mutati The Minister, North-Western Province, Hon. Joseph Mulyata The Chairman of the Board of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia, Mr. George Sokota His Worship the mayor of Solwezi The Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank, Mrs. Mizinga Melu Distinguished guests Members of the press Ladies and Gentlemen I am pleased to be here at the official opening of the new Solwezi Branch of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Limited. Ladies and Gentlemen, recent times have shown a proliferation of commercial bank branches in areas which had previously been considered unattractive for business. Rural areas had even experienced closures where banks felt that they were unable to establish a case for business. The economic environment that the Government created through the reforms instituted in the early 1990’s has given new confidence to investors and has provided an opportunity for businesses to grow, thereby attracting banks to the areas which were deprived of basic financial services. The opening of this branch today, in a town which has attracted major investments, is a demonstration that the financial sector is indeed, now responding to the needs of business.
While each financial market has many idiosyncratic factors, fintech can offer solutions that cut through different geographical and market boundaries. For example, breakthrough in biometric authentication technology is helpful not only in the advanced markets but also in the developing markets. By the same token, cybersecurity threats can originate from anywhere in the world and is not bound by national boundaries. There is a high degree of commonality in the application of fintech, especially in the context of cross-border financial transactions and flows. So it is crucial for Hong Kong to enhance its collaboration with other financial centres to share experience and learn from each other. In this context, I am very pleased to announce that I have just signed a Cooperation Agreement on fintech with the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Mr Ravi Menon. To mark the occasion, a simple ceremony will be held later this morning to exchange the signed Agreement. May I take this opportunity to thank my MAS colleagues for working very hard with us on this most meaningful collaboration. 4. Hong Kong and Singapore are the two leading international financial centres in Asia. Both the HKMA and MAS are actively promoting the use and development of fintech respectively. There is considerable scope for the two places to collaborate and achieve a win-win outcome. A priority area of collaboration is the use of fintech in advancing the hitherto paperbased trade finance system that has been in use for as long as trade existed.