Cathay Financial Holdings becomes the first Taiwan
financial services company to join Silicon Valley's
Plug and Play Tech Center
TAIPEI, December 29, 2016 – Cathay Financial Holdings, a leading financial services company in Taiwan, today announced that it has joined Plug and Play Tech Center, the world’s largest global technology accelerator, as a Corporate Anchor Partner in its FinTech Program.
“Collaborating with Plug and Play is an important part of our overall fintech strategy,” said David Sun, Senior Executive Vice President at Cathay Financial Holdings. “Through our collaboration with Plug and Play, we will have the opportunity to be an integral part of the global fintech ecosystem and can more effectively engage with fintech startups, investors and other corporate members.”
“We are continually focused on providing innovative digital approaches to financial products and services to our customers in Taiwan and other Asian markets,” said Marcus Lopez, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital, Data and Technology at Cathay Financial Holdings. “We very much look forward to working closely with Plug and Play to identify new digital technologies and business models that can evolve our business and keep us at the leading edge of fintech innovation.”
The Plug and Play FinTech Program runs twice a year and connects a select group of startups from around the world with financial institutions involved in its program. As part of the current program, each year Cathay Financial Holdings will help select and mentor 40 – 50 fintech startups chosen from over 2,000 applications. At the end of the 12-week program, the startups pitch their ideas to investors and corporate executives at Plug and Play’s FinTech EXPO.
“We are very excited to partner with Cathay Financial Holdings and further expand our interaction with financial institutions in Asia,” said Scott Robinson, Founder and Vice President of Plug and Play FinTech. “By working with Cathay Financial Holdings, we have the chance to bring leading entrepreneurs that have a wide range of emerging technology capabilities to a leading financial services company in Asia. Our startups in turn will benefit from Cathay Financial Holdings’ industry knowledge, broad customer base and go-to-market strategies.”
About Cathay Financial Holdings
Cathay Financial Holdings is a leading financial company in Taiwan that provides its customers with a broad range of financial services in insurance, banking, and asset management. In addition to its leading market position in Taiwan, Cathay Financial Holdings also has expanded its operations in other Asia-Pacific markets, including China, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. With over US$230 billion in assets and over 12.5 million customers, Cathay Financial Holdings seeks to become a leading financial services provider in the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, please visit: https://www.cathayholdings.com.
About Plug and Play Tech Center
Plug and Play Tech Center is the world's largest global technology accelerator and venture fund. Since its inception in 2006, the program has expanded worldwide to include entrepreneurs from 24 countries and provides the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley. With over 350 startups and 300 corporate partners, Plug and Play is the ultimate startup ecosystem. Plug and Play also provides active investments with 180 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and more than 365 networking events per year. Companies in the community have raised over US$3.5 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk. For more information, please visit: http://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com.