2017-10-30
Bank of Lithuania to present business development opportunities for Chinese online giants
At a Bank of Lithuania initiated seminar in Beijing, Marius Jurgilas, Member of the Board, will present to the leaders in Chinese e-commerce, payment and other sectors Lithuania’s FinTech potential.
‘Chinese e-commerce, payment and FinTech sectors have been rapidly expanding and are looking for business development opportunities across the globe. We have undoubtedly attracted the industry’s attention as we have much to offer. A one-on-one meeting with the leaders in these sectors will be a great opportunity to unveil our advantages and achievements in the field of FinTech. In the long run, this might produce fruitful results,’ said Marius Jurgilas, Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.
The seminar exploring opportunities for cooperation will host DHgate, the founder of a business-to-business e-commerce platform, as well as representatives from payment, financial and economic cooperation organisations and the academia.
According to M. Jurgilas, the Chinese e-commerce and payment companies have shown considerable interest in Lithuania’s FinTech-friendly regulatory environment, as well as the Bank of Lithuania-managed payment system, which offers access to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and might open the door for non-EU countries to Europe’s multibillion-euro payments market.
Lithuania has already introduced several measures that might be appealing to financial institutions: a particularly fast authorisation process and a broad choice of business models – from e-money or payment institutions to specialised banks, which are unprecedented in Europe.
The Bank of Lithuania has also implemented a one-stop shop principle for meetings and consultations with potential financial market participants. Prior to launching a business or a new product, investors may check whether their future plans are in line with legislative requirements. Information on licensing opportunities in Lithuania is presented on the Bank of Lithuania website under section Newcomer.
In addition, companies designing innovative financial products and business solutions will be given the possibility to test them in a new regulatory sandbox created by the Bank of Lithuania.
Development of a FinTech-conducive regulatory and supervisory ecosystem as well as fostering of innovation in the financial sector is one of the Bank of Lithuania’s strategic directions for 2017–2020. Together with other state authorities, the Bank of Lithuania aims at creating a FinTech-friendly environment that would attract new companies and encourage them to incubate new products in the country.