HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach - 17 March 2022 - The application period for The IFTA FinTech and Innovation Awards 2021/2022 (the "Awards") has officially commenced. Organised by the Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia ("IFTA"), the Award is now running for its 4^th year to celebrate the significant achievements made worldwide in the realm of FinTech, and to further recognise more groundbreaking achivements this year, applications are open to both individuals and institutions of different natures.

Themed "Two Worlds, One Goal: The Virtualisation of Reality", the Awards recognise the important nuances of parallel worlds both physical and virtual, as well as, the role that corporations and individuals play in their development within the economy.The Awards focus on Innovation and Technology, Contribution and Ethics, Professionalism, and Teamwork. A well-rounded evaluation will be conducted for the participants to select those who have shown mastery in balancing both worlds and contributing to the FinTech space in their business operations.

"We recognise achievements worldwide in FinTech innovation, education, R&D, and its applications through its 9 corporate, 3 individual and 1 team award categories." IFTA Founder and Chairman Mr Paul Pong said, "The awards boast a line-up of elite awardees amongst Hong Kong's FinTech industry who celebrated one another for furthering social and business innovations, proving that Hong Kong is a leading force in adapting consumer financial technology. In response to the government's strategy for nurturing and developing FinTech talents, we have also set up a special honorary award category regardingly this year, more details will be announced on the awards website."

The Awards' Head Juror Dr Charleston Sin added, "Hong Kong is going to kick off a pipeline of FinTech projects in response to "FinTech 2025" Strategy, the Awards showcase and acknowledge outstanding corporations and their contributions in driving FinTech development in Hong Kong."

Since IFTA's establishment in September 2017, the IFTA has been contributing to the promotion of professional standards within Asia's FinTech industry. The organisation is known to be a major facilitator of FinTech education and a platform for nurturing new talents. For the past 5 years, the Awards have been recognising companies that have been dedicated to the development of this once emerging, and now maturing industry.

Corporate Achievements in FinTech (for publicly listed companies, private corporates, start-ups and NGOs)

	Categories
1	RegTech
2	InsurTech
3	Payment Tech
4	Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and CEP (Cryptoasset Exchange Providers)
5	Banking Tech
6	WealthTech
7	Metaverse, NFT, And DeFi (Decentralised Finance)
8	ArtTech
9	Others*

* This category awards any innovative project that falls under FinTech, but does not apply to any of the categories above.

Outstanding Financial Technologists of the Year (for individuals and Teams)

Leader of the Year - Recognising company founders, shareholding directors, or C-suite executives for their contributions and achievements.

Rising Star of the Year - Recognising young professionals in any company, on or below age 35 for their contributions and achievements.

Star in the Making - Recognising students (undergraduate or postgraduate) for innovative projects or ideas that could positively transform the FinTech industry.

Team of the Year - Recognising corporate teams/project teams who have made significant contributions within their respective industries through the implementation of FinTech solutions.

The Jury Panel (arranged in alphabetical order of surnames)

Name	Title
Head Juror
Dr Charleston SIN	Executive Director MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node
Vice-chairlady of Jury Panel
Dr Dorothy CHAU	Head of Security Special Projects Cypto.com
Jurors
Mr Alex CHAN	Chief Executive Officer FORMS HK & Thailand
Mr Emil CHAN	Chairman The Association of Cloud and Mobile Computing Professionals
Ir Eric CHAN	Chief Public Mission Officer Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited
Mr Raymond CHAN	CEO & Director Mataverse Securities
Mrs Cindy CHOW	Executive Director Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund
Mr Eugene HSIA	Chief Corporate Development Officer Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Mr Sean LEE	Co-founder MODO Tech
Dr Paul SIN	Director of Technology & Transformation New World Development Company Limited
Ms Juni YAN	Managing Director Fintech Business, International, WeBank
Prof YIU Siu Ming	Associate Head (Teaching and Learning), Department of Computer Science, The University of Hong Kong

For more information, please visit www.iftaawards.org

About IFTA

The Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia Limited (IFTA) is an NPO established in Hong Kong in September 2017; to uphold the professional standard of Financial Technologists in Asia and create an ecosystem for global fintech talents to be connected. In the witness of HKSAR Government representatives, and the City of London at the signing ceremony, IFTA entered a collaboration agreement with the Certificate in Finance and Technology (CFT) from the United Kingdom to introduce the first CFT program in Asia. Besides delivering certification, IFTA also organises events including boot camps, seminars, and an annual award to accelerate Fintech education and industry engagement among government, regulators, universities, enterprises, and start-ups.

#IFTA

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.