Vista founder calls for investment in Asia techinfrastructure
Monday, January 25, 2021
(AVCJ by Tim Burroughs) – Vista Equity Partners is keen to invest in Asia’s financial technology space, but founder Robert Smith stressed that governments must put in place the appropriate regulatory infrastructure.
The Greater Bay Area, and Hong Kong specifically, can help bridge Asia with the rest of the world, Smith observed. He pointed to Hong Kong’s legal and regulatory frameworks – historically trusted by the international community – as well as its potential to develop talent and create conditions conducive to innovation.
“It’s important to ensure you have non-Asian investors participating in that fabric who have experience, who have platforms, who have assets they have invested in that are global assets so there can be an acceleration of the opportunity set,” he added. “This can de-risk the investment for everyone involved.”
“I worry that a further bifurcation would damage that interoperability. Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area can in some respects play a pivotal role in demonstrating the importance of maintaining relationships, and technical relationships and partnerships, so that we all benefit from an expanding opportunity rather than a limited one created by bifurcated techstacks,” Smith said.
