South Korea keen to partner with Brunei to develop fintech startups

The Korea Fintech Industry Association announced that it is keen in establishing partnerships with Brunei in order to build and develop tech startups specializing in fintech application development.

According to the Brunei Times, the association’s senior advisor and director Jeon YounKab said that South Korea is interested in a collaborative model in which a platform is provided by technologically-advanced Asian nation with Brunei handling its own content.

Talking about the sidelines of the Brunei-Korea ICT Conference, Jeon told Brunei Times, “By having a fintech centre (in Brunei), South Korean industry players can perform their research in Brunei. The Bruneian government can handle data protection and provide data… so it’s a centre with joint funding and cooperation.” He also mentioned that the proposal is just an initial idea in a move to attract South Korean fintech businesses that plans to invest in the sultanate.

The centre establishment would make Brunei a testpad for companies to explore fintech developments and technologies. Kim TaeBong, CEO of South Korean cyber-security company KTB Solution, said that the partnership would benefit both the countries and Brunei’s knowledge in Islamic finance could be an area for potential collaboration.

The Brunei-Korea ICT Conference that was held on Monday was jointly organized by Energy and Industry Department at the PMO and the South Korean Embassy in Brunei.