SINGAPORE / SHANGHAI, CHINA -- 7 November 2018 - UNPay and the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, had a fruitful discussion yesterday on the future of financial technology (fintech) at The China-Lithuania Economic Cooperation Forum and the China-Lithuania Financial Science and Technology Cooperation.

 

The forum─which was jointly organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania and the International Cooperation Society of the Ministry of Commerce, marked the start of the first day of enterprise cooperation, at the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE). The CIIE which was opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, aims to bring together more than 3,000 foreign companies from 130 countries, linking them up with potential buyers from China.

 

UNPAY founder and CEO Zhang Zhenghua, was invited as a representative from one of the world's leading fintech companies. He was cordially received by Lithuania President, Dalia Grybauskaite, board member of Lithuanian Bank (Central Bank) Mariyo S. Jergilas, and general manager of a Lithuanian company, Diana Clebona. The party then continued to have in-depth exchanges on the development of fintech collaborations between China and Lithuania.

 

During the meeting with President Grybauskaite on the first day of CIIE, President Xi pointed out that Lithuania is an important country in the Baltic region and a vital partner of China in Central and Eastern Europe. President Xi also stressed that with China's emphasis on the development of neutral relations, Lithuania, which has obvious regional advantages, can play an important role in Asia-Europe interconnections.

 

President Xi mentioned that China is dedicated to strengthening the strategy and cooperation of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), especially in the construction of the railway systems between Central Asia and European countries, the "Three Ports", as well as expand two-way investments in e-commerce, financial technology, new energy and agriculture. 

 

President Grybauskaite reaffirmed Lithuania's commitment to economic and trade cooperation with China by personally leading a delegation to participate in the CIIE, and was the first to meet with President Xi.

 

Marius Jugilis, a board member of the Bank of Lithuania (Central Bank), expressed Lithuania's ambition to become a "financial technology centre" in the Nordic-Baltic region. This means that Lithuania will become the gateway for China and the world's enterprises to enter Europe.

 

During the round-table discussion, Zhenghua, Marius Jugillis and a few leaders of well-known enterprises like Yixin Group, participated in deep discussions on the development of financial science and technology in the two countries. Zhenghua said that looking at the current international market, Lithuania is deemed to be a high potential fintech stock that has been overlooked, in terms of regulatory support, corporate tax rate or talent reserve.  

 

In his recommendations to help Lithuania develop its fintech and attract quality enterprises, Zhenghua highlighted that UNPay would not only provide payment services to the Lithuanian government, empower the local enterprises, share resources of other countries on its network, it would also share its proprietary technology and experience with the country.

 

"We rely on China's leading cumulative experience and implementation of financial technology in payment. As one of the first few fintech companies to start operations in Europe, we are honoured to participate in the development of fintech in Lithuania, and to build it up as the cross-border, fintech capital of Europe and beyond. At the same time, we hope to establish an extensive, cross-border financial data centre, leveraging on AI, big data and other technologies", Zhenghua expressed.

 

"Once this cross-border financial data centre has been established, international transfers and exchanges from Europe will commence. The flow of capital trade will change, and this is the opportunity for the future of fintech between China and Lithuania," Zhenghua added. (roc/by).