Chet Bondada (Talking about FinTech in Hong Kong)

Today we have Chet Bondada on the show. He's head of Prime Finance Tech for Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. He's also someone who's extremely passionate about Finance Technology in general and a mentor to FinTech startups in Hong Kong. Today, the goal of our podcast is to unpack some of the jargon we hear about FinTech. We're going to have Chet explain Big Data and other trending tech to us and we're also going to talk about FinTech in Hong Kong in general.

So let me first of all welcome Chet to the podcast and thank him for taking the time!

Questions:

1. Please tell us about your background

2. You've worked for large bulge bracket firms like UBS. These firms usually have the reputation of being big and bureaucratic. How much truth is there to that?

3. When did you start to get interested in the FinTech space and what sparked this interest?

Fintech in General:

1. When someone says "FinTech", what immediately comes to mind?

2. Your interest specifically is in Block Chain (Distributed Ledger Technology) and Machine Learning. Why?

3. Let's talk about each of these things:

   1. What is Block Chain?

   2. What is DLT?

   3. Why is it so "hot" and what impact is it expected to have?

   4. Can you talk about some of the practical applications of DLT?

4. Everyone talks about AI and Machine Learning and it seems like it's quite overused now? How much of it is hype?

5. What are some practical examples of the use of AI?

6. What about cryptocurrencies? What do you think about bitcoins?

7. Everyone talks about Big Data and how licensing data is going to be the next big thing. What's your take on that?

FinTech scene in Hong Kong:

1. You mentor some of the FinTech startups in HK. How do you decide which startups to mentor?

1. Can you name some of these startups and what they do?

2. There's a lot of comparison between HK and SG's FinTech scene. Many say SG government is more supportive of FinTech there whereas the Hk Gov could do more. What's your personal opinion on this?

3. Who are some of the key players when it comes to the FinTech incubating scene? Like Alibaba?

4. Do you think there's a shortage of tech talent in HK for FinTech's to hire from? How can FinTech firms better attract Tech talent?

Future of Technology in Finance:

1. Do you think really think there's a threat to the business model of traditional banks from GAFAs and BATs? Tell us what GAFA and BATs are!

2. What's your view on cybercrime? Do you think it will become a bigger problem with thieves becoming smarter than cops?

3. If you could invest in one great FinTech idea and pour most of your investment money into it, which one would it be?

Advice for aspiring technologists:

1. Is there anything different that computer science students need to do now to prepare for the FinTech world ahead of them?

2. If there's any advice you can pass on to your 20-year-old self, what would it be?

3. Is there anything else you'd like to say that I haven't asked you yet