Jay Wenjie Xiao, LexinFintech CEO, shares how he started the company, and how it leverages AI and big data to enable sustainable lending to China’s growing segments of underserved young adult consumers

Michael Correa, general manager of Westpac for Asia Pacific, talks about the payment developments in Asia and the role Australia played in achieving this growth in the region.

Falk Rieker, Global Vice President and Global Head of IBU Banking at SAP, highlights the importance for banks to take a more collaborative and proactive approach to drive connectivity with the ecosystems that their customers operate in.

Patrik Zekkar, global head of trade finance and working capital management at Nordea, shares his views on the overall business in the trade finance area, and the bank’s plans to scale-up and expand towards Asia.

Michael Lim and Mark Evans, ANZ Institutional executives, discuss the opportunities made available in collaborating with fintechs and how these can be beneficial for both ends.

Paul Taylor, head of Global Financial Institution Sales for GTS at Bank of America, talks about the massive increase in the importance of data and how this will help FIs.

Jafar Amin, Asia Pacific regional president and head of corporate and investment banking at Wells Fargo, discusses the challenges that financial institutions and global markets face such as the US-China trade war, Brexit and the emergence of new tech players in the financial space.

Devashis Das, deputy head of Global Transaction Banking, Asia Oceania at Mizuho Bank discusses the latest financial technologies and the opportunities they create for the banking industry.

Abdul Rahman AlAshraf, founder of FreeCom, shares how his idea of communicating without the use of internet or mobile network came about. He also explains how the prototype works, its potentials and how it will keep people connected during disasters.

In the midst of the US-China trade war, Fudan University Dean of Economics Professor Zhang Jun, provides a clearer picture of what goes on inside the world’s second-largest economy and the factors affecting its growth.

Dimantha Seneviratne, the chief executive of Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank, discusses the challenges that the country has been facing as well as the opportunities he sees for the Sri Lankan economy.

Guy Verhofstadt, former prime minister of Belgium, admits that the European Union is still a weak organisation. And in a future that heralds a “world of empires”, it is necessary for the EU to abandon the unanimity rule and move forward with federalism, which holds the key to the survival of Europe in the modern world. As the chief European Parliament coordinator in the Brexit negotiations, he considers Brexit as a failure of the EU and believes that Europeans are stronger when they work together.

As a pioneer in the Chinese asset management industry with a 20-year history, Harvest Fund is focusing on “ideas” to create sustainable returns for investors, states company chairman Zhao Xuejun

In an interview with The Asian Banker, Bassel Gamal, Qatar Islamic Bank’s group CEO, makes known that the bank is not resting on its laurels after having achieved financial achievements over the years. Rather, it is continuously trying to improve its position by staying competitive and relevant.

Tan Kong Khoon, the president and CEO of Hong Leong Financial Group, shares his views with The Asian Banker regarding the company’s plans for the long term, the challenges facing the financial industry, and providing solutions for customers’ needs.