The company highlighted its efforts to advance the fintech sector through developments in cloud computing and AI.

Throughout the event, Tencent Cloud’s booth drew interest from financial institutions, technology partners, and industry professionals, featuring demonstrations of solutions including Tencent Yuanbao, the eKYC facial-recognition tool, the Agent Development Platform (ADP), and the CodeBuddy AI assistant.

These technologies aim to help financial institutions enhance security, improve operational efficiency, and support digital transformation across markets.

Tencent Cloud currently serves over 10,000 financial clients in 20 countries and regions, with nearly 400 overseas customers recording double-digit growth.

In Hong Kong, its partners include Futu Securities, Fusion Bank, Airstar Bank, AIA, and BOC (HK).

Recent collaborations involved assisting Fusion Bank with a core-banking system migration completed within 15 hours, and supporting Airstar Bank’s transition to full cloud operations to improve performance, cost efficiency, and agility under local compliance requirements.

Dr Yanxin Yu, Managing Director of Consulting at Tencent Cloud, delivered a keynote titled “Digital Convergence & Strategic Partnerships: Tencent’s Vision for Future-Proof Business” at the AI & Advanced Tech Forum.

The session examined how digital convergence is reshaping financial services and the importance of strategic collaboration.

“Financial institutions are successfully navigating an unprecedented era of digital transformation,”

said Dr Yu.

“The positive response we received at Fintech Week confirms that our intelligent cloud solutions and collaborative approach are effectively empowering businesses to lead innovation in the fintech landscape.”

Tencent Cloud representatives also took part in panel discussions.

Lorence Liao, Head of International AI Architecture, joined the session “From Core to Collaboration: Reinventing Banking Through Platforms and Partnerships,” discussing the shift from traditional systems to platform-based banking models enabled by cloud and AI.

Jared Jiang, Deputy General Manager, participated in “AI x Identity: Deepfakes, Trust, and the Future of Reality,” addressing digital identity security and methods to strengthen trust in financial transactions.

Additionally, the Hong Kong Fintech Week x Tencent Roundtable brought together industry leaders to discuss emerging trends and partnership opportunities, generating interest in Tencent Cloud’s approach to secure and innovative financial ecosystems.

Featured image credit: Tencent Cloud

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The updates cover language and multimodal models, agent development frameworks, enterprise AI platforms, and cloud infrastructure.

“In the future, large AI models will be deeply integrated into a wide range of devices, functioning like operating systems, equipped with persistent memory, seamless cloud-edge coordination, and the ability to continuously evolve,”

said Eddie Wu, Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

He added that Alibaba Cloud remains committed to open-sourcing Qwen and shaping it into the “operating system of the AI era,” while continuing with a RMB 380 billion investment in AI and cloud infrastructure over the next three years.

Since launching Qwen in 2023, Alibaba has open-sourced more than 300 models built on its Qwen language and Wan visual-generation foundations, with over 600 million downloads and 170,000 derivative models created.

More than one million users have accessed Qwen through Model Studio, its AI development platform.

The company released Qwen3-Max, its largest LLM to date with over 1 trillion parameters.

Available in Instruct and Thinking modes, it scored 69.6 on the SWE-Bench benchmark for software issue resolution and showed strong performance on Tau2-Bench, which tests conversational agent capabilities.

Other models include Qwen3-VL, a vision-language model with spatial understanding for 3D navigation and visual programming; Qwen3-Omni, a multimodal model that processes text, images, audio, and video with real-time responses and is now open-sourced on Hugging Face and ModelScope; and upgraded versions of Qwen3-Coder and Qwen3-Image-Edit.

Alibaba also introduced Fun-ASR, a speech recognition model, and Fun-CosyVoice, a speech synthesis model.

The company also previewed Wan2.5 models for video, image generation, and editing.

The video models now generate clips of up to 10 seconds with integrated audio and improved multimodal alignment.

Model Studio has been updated with a new Agent Development Kit (ADK) for high-code enterprise projects and an enhanced low-code Agent Development Platform (ADP).

More than 800,000 agents have been created on Model Studio.

Other platforms introduced include AgentBay, with self-evolving functions and compliance controls; Lingyang AgentOne, an enterprise AI application platform that integrates marketing, analytics, and operations; and Zaodian, a consumer-facing service for AI-generated images and videos.

Alibaba Cloud also introduced infrastructure upgrades to support large-scale AI and agentic workloads.

Its Object Storage Service now includes vector storage for retrieval-augmented generation applications.

The new HPN8.0 network architecture delivers 800 Gbps throughput for large model training and inference.

Its Cloud Threat Detection Response system has been enhanced with agent-driven automation, increasing automated investigation success from 59% to 74%.

Container Compute Services now support scaling up to 15,000 pods per minute with stronger isolation features.

PolarDB has been upgraded with Compute Express Link (CXL) to reduce latency and support multimodal data storage through a hybrid Lakebase architecture.

AThe Platform for AI now offers optimisations that accelerate Qwen training by over 300% and reduce Wan training time by 28%, while also improving inference efficiency.

Featured image credit: Alibaba Cloud

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He outlined Huawei Cloud’s work in AI compute services, foundation models, embodied AI, and AI agents.

Huawei Cloud announced its AI Compute Service powered by CloudMatrix384. The CloudMatrix supernode will be upgraded from 384 cards to 8,192 cards and can support clusters running on 500,000 to one million cards.

The company also introduced Elastic Memory Service (EMS), which expands video RAM with memory to reduce latency in multi-round conversations with foundation models.

Huawei has deployed liquid-cooled AI data centres in Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, and Anhui.

These support 80 kW heat dissipation per cabinet, achieve a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.1, and provide AI-enabled operations and maintenance.

According to Huawei, enterprises only require optical fibre connections to access these services, avoiding the need for new data centre construction.

Zhang said Huawei Cloud’s AI Token Service “abstracts away the underlying technical complexity and directly provides users with the final AI computing results.”

The CloudMatrix384 supernode pools compute, memory, and storage resources, and converts serial tasks into distributed parallel tasks.

For inference tasks with different latency requirements, the system delivers average inference performance per card three to four times higher than H20, he noted.

The AI Token Service powered by CloudMatrix384 was officially launched at the event.

Huawei Cloud continues to develop its Pangu Models, both open-source and closed-source, to address sector-specific use cases.

Pangu Models have been applied in more than 500 scenarios across over 30 industries, including finance, manufacturing, healthcare, mining, transport, autonomous driving, and meteorology.

The company also introduced the CloudRobo Embodied AI Platform, which runs algorithms and logic on the cloud to support more lightweight robots.

To enable communication between robots and the cloud, Huawei launched the Robot to Cloud (R2C) Protocol, with 20 initial partners onboarded.

Huawei Cloud is expanding its Kunpeng-powered ARM cloud services, with compute cores increasing from 9 million to 15 million over the past year.

In databases, Huawei Cloud reported that GaussDB clusters based on supernodes allow pooled compute, memory, and storage resources, and support multi-read and multi-write on all nodes.

A supernode-based GaussDB cluster can process 5.4 million transactions per minute, a 2.9-fold increase over non-supernode clusters.

Featured image credit: Huawei

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The collaboration will cover cloud-based enterprise operations, AI-driven business applications, and e-commerce growth.

“Our partnership opens up opportunities for both Bosch and Alibaba to expand in the global market,”

said Dr Tanja Rückert, member of the Bosch board of management and Chief Digital Officer.

“By joining forces, we combine Alibaba’s cloud infrastructure, AI capabilities and e-commerce reach with Bosch’s expertise in mobility, industrial technology and consumer goods. Cooperation with strong partners like Alibaba is essential for Bosch to realise the full potential of AI and create greater value.”

Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group, said:

“This partnership with Bosch demonstrates our commitment to empowering global businesses with advanced technologies and highlights Alibaba’s strengths in AI and cloud computing. Bosch’s expertise in automotive solutions and household appliances, combined with Alibaba’s innovations in cloud, AI and e-commerce, will enable both companies to deliver value to customers worldwide.”

The agreement will involve cloud migration and AI collaboration across Bosch’s operations, including corporate processes, home appliances and commercial vehicles, with the aim of improving efficiency and developing smarter systems.

Bosch will also explore the use of Alibaba Cloud’s AI infrastructure for its intelligent driving environment.

In the automotive sector, both companies intend to assess the use of Qwen-based multimodal models to improve in-vehicle interactions and consider applications of Qwen’s visual language model to support automated driving.

In e-commerce, Bosch plans to introduce new product categories in China in 2025, using consumer insights from Alibaba’s platforms.

Alibaba will support Bosch in expanding its customer base in China through digital marketing.

Bosch also intends to extend its e-commerce presence to Southeast Asia, Spain and Latin America via Alibaba’s platforms including Lazada, Miravia and AliExpress.

Bosch and Alibaba first began working together in e-commerce in 2017, with Bosch establishing a presence on Alibaba’s Tmall platform.

Since then, the partnership has involved marketing, sales, membership programmes and online-to-offline services.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by peachfreepix via Freepik

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The Alibaba global cloud computing network would cover regions such as Asia (including China, Japan, and South Korea), Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas to help Chinese businesses grow internationally.

The organisation plans to accelerate its global expansion in large language models and invest more in building overseas consulting, technology, and service teams, according to Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group and chairman and CEO of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group.

Alibaba Cloud operates 87 availability zones in 29 regions worldwide under its global infrastructure at the moment. It provides 394 cloud and AI products along with 59 technical services, purportedly making it the leading cloud service provider in the Asia-Pacific region.

Alibaba Group has announced plans to invest over 380 billion yuan (US$52.9 billion) in cloud and AI hardware infrastructure over the next three years.

Wu stated that going global is a natural step for Chinese companies. He noted that China is already leading in areas like 5G, artificial intelligence, and smart vehicles.

As Chinese businesses continue to grow, they are expected to have a greater impact on the global market through advancements in technology, supply chains, services, and brands.

Alibaba Cloud was notably also one of four technology partners involved in the HKMA Gen AI sandbox, a program which aims to explore the potential generative AI has in the banking sector via innovative use cases.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by Alibaba Group Media Library

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According to a Reuters report released on 24 February 2025, the Alibaba cloud investment announcement follows the company’s earlier hint of future investments in AI during its quarterly earnings report last week. During the December quarter, Alibaba reported revenues of 280.15 billion yuan.

The newly revealed Alibaba cloud investment will exceed what the company has spent on these technologies over the past decade combined, said Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu, underlining the group’s commitment to innovation and growth. He did not mention an exact figure on the investment amount.

As of the most recent close, its stock has surged over 68% this year, reflecting market optimism about its ambitious plans. In Hong Kong, Alibaba Cloud is one of the technology partners involved in HKMA’s initial gen AI sandbox, which is exploring the potential Gen AI has in banking.

Beyond Alibaba, other Chinese companies are also ramping up their investments in AI.

ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has reportedly allocated more than 150 billion yuan in capital expenditure for 2025, much of which is expected to focus on AI advancements, according to sources cited by Reuters in January.

This wave of investments highlights the intensifying race among Chinese tech giants to dominate AI and cloud technologies, areas pivotal to shaping the future of the global tech industry.

Source of image: Edited from Freepik

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The migration, which took 10 months, was supported by WeBank’s digital banking technology.

Since commencing operations in December 2020, Fusion Bank has seen rapid growth, necessitating improved service quality and operational efficiency. The bank launched its core banking system migration in December 2023 to address these needs.

The migration involved integrating and transforming over 150 subsystems across five banking areas: retail deposits, retail loans, corporate deposits, corporate loans, and foreign exchange services.

The process had to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements while minimising disruptions to users.

Tencent Cloud provided the cloud computing infrastructure, incorporating solutions such as Tencent Cloud Database (TDSQL) and Tencent Cloud TCE. TDSQL, compatible with MySQL, enabled seamless integration with Fusion Bank’s systems and facilitated data migration with minimal impact.

Tencent Cloud TCE improved resource utilisation through containerised deployment, reducing costs by 40% and cutting system recovery time to 30 minutes.

A Configuration Management Database (CMDB) was also implemented to enhance system maintenance and simplify operations.

This allowed Fusion Bank’s IT team to focus on business development rather than system management.

The migration was completed in 10 months, with the system switchover taking 15 hours and data migration completed within six hours.

Billy Chiu, Alternate Chief Executive and Chief Technology Officer of Fusion Bank, stated,

“By 2027, we anticipate a 53% reduction in non-labour IT costs compared to 2024, with these costs decreasing from 60% to 39% of total expenses. Beyond cost efficiency, the new core system enhances our agility, allowing us to respond swiftly to market shifts and introduce new financial products.”

Liming Hu, Vice President of Tencent Cloud, added,

“The success of this migration highlights the strength of Tencent Cloud’s solutions in supporting digital transformation in the financial sector. We look forward to assisting more financial institutions in upgrading their core banking systems.”

Featured image: Jun Cao, General Manager of Tencent Cloud Commercial Banking Solutions; Ming Zhou, Vice General Manager of WeBank Digital Finance Development Department; Billy Chiu, Alternate Chief Executive and Chief Technology Officer of Fusion Bank; Liming Hu, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Double Tang, Senior Director of Cloud Infrastructure & Application Management of Fusion Bank (From left to right)

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Both entities will focus on co-developing the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance.

This cloud-based platform aims to modernise core insurance operations by combining localised business content with global industry best practices.

Japan’s insurance industry is navigating significant challenges, including an aging population, declining birth rates, the rise of fintech, and evolving customer expectations.

To stay competitive, insurers must address outdated systems, IT talent shortages, and compliance requirements while enhancing operational efficiency.

The Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance will standardise key functions such as product management, underwriting, and claims processing, allowing insurers to strategically allocate resources—including personnel and investments—toward innovation and growth.

The platform also aims to establish itself as the de facto standard for collaboration and governance in the industry.

Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer are conducting proof-of-concept trials, with a planned launch by March 2026.

The partnership includes joint efforts in product planning, development, and marketing.

Masaru Yagi, Corporate Executive Officer, EVP, Vice Head of Global Customer Success, Fujitsu Limited, said,

“The collaboration marks a pivotal moment in our efforts to drive digital transformation (DX) for our financial customers. By merging SAP Fioneer’s cutting-edge financial services solutions with Fujitsu’s unparalleled expertise and quality in system development for the financial sector, we are poised to deliver groundbreaking and efficient solutions like never before.

Through this partnership, we will closely collaborate with SAP Fioneer from product planning to development and marketing, and advance DX in the financial industry.”

Chirag Shah, Managing Director Insurance, SAP Fioneer, said,

“Japan’s insurance market requires solutions that address its unique local regulatory and functional requirements.

In response to the industry’s demand for an adaptable packaged software suited to the Japanese insurance sector, we are partnering with Fujitsu to develop the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance, our core insurance platform, which combines localised business content with global industry best practices.”

Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik

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Under this extended collaboration, AWS will continue to host FWD’s core business applications, including finance and customer interfaces.

This partnership aims to enhance FWD’s agility, scalability, and resilience as the company transitions away from operating its onsite data centers.

Cloud technology has significantly benefited FWD’s software development and deployment, speeding up time-to-market and improving customer experiences.

By the end of 2023, FWD had migrated 97% of its applications to the cloud, a major increase from 27% at the end of 2020, with 93% of outdated applications decommissioned.

Notable projects with AWS include Omne by FWD, a digital self-service and claims process platform, and a centralised cloud-based finance hub for collecting, validating, and processing financial, investment, and actuarial data.

Between 2021 and 2023, FWD also saw substantial growth in cloud certifications, training over 600 employees through AWS Skills Guild.

FWD’s digital cloud platform integrates analytics, database management, and AI, enhancing development efficiency and security.

This cloud-first approach supports FWD’s generative AI deployment, which aims to improve customer experience and operations across various functions.

Since starting its AI journey in 2019, FWD now employs nearly 200 AI models with over 600 use cases.

Sandeep Pandey, Group Chief Technology & Operations Officer of FWD Group, said,

“At FWD, cloud computing is a holistic business strategy, not just a priority for the technology function. This digital-first mindset has delivered operational infrastructure and capabilities that are not only secure and cloud-based, but also fully integrated across business functions and with valued partners like AWS.

 

With these foundations in place, we can now further scale our generative artificial intelligence (AI) deployment in an efficient, effective and responsible way, in line with our vision of changing the way people feel about insurance.”

Francessca Vasquez, Vice President of Professional Services and Generative Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center, AWS, said,

“FWD Group’s ambition of harnessing the power of cloud and generative AI demonstrates their commitment to digital transformation and customer-centricity.

 

We are excited to continue supporting FWD Group with AWS’s proven reliability and capabilities, helping them accelerate innovation, save cost, drive efficiency and expand their business.”

Featured image: (Left: Francessca Vasquez, Vice President of Professional Services and Generative Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center, AWS; right: Sandeep Pandey, Group Chief Technology & Operations Officer of FWD Group)

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This collaboration aims to develop a “Web3 Industry Cloud” platform, bolstering the infrastructure for local Web3 startups and promoting the wider adoption of Web3 technologies.

The agreement, endorsed by Peter Yan, CEO of Cyberport, and Jason Zhang, Managing Director of Huawei Cloud Hong Kong, also focuses on talent development, enterprise transformation, and industry support in AI and Web3 fields.

This partnership is poised to drive digital transformation efforts, contributing to Hong Kong’s ambition to become a smart city and a hub for digital economy development.

It combines Huawei Cloud’s technological expertise with Cyberport’s vibrant startup ecosystem, aiming to enhance local SMEs’ digital capabilities and foster a thriving innovation and technology ecosystem in Hong Kong.

Over the next three years, both entities will collaborate on various projects, including establishing the “Web3 Industry Cloud” platform and facilitating the transformation of traditional enterprises through Web3 technologies.

Simon Chan, Chairman of Cyberport, said,

“Cyberport is delighted to deepen our collaboration with Huawei Cloud, a member of the Cyberport Technology Network. The partnership encompasses talent cultivation and the advancement of the digital innovation ecosystem. Together, we will explore innovation in industry cloud and related technologies while bolstering the development of AI and Web3 sectors.”

Jacqueline Shi, Vice President of Huawei Cloud Computing, said,

“Huawei Cloud and Cyberport share common vision and missions in the popularisation of new technology applications such as AI and Web3, digital transformation of industries, and innovation and technology development, which are the cornerstone of our in-depth collaboration.”

Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik

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