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Chairman’s Statement

Dear All,

On behalf of the board (the “Board”) of directors (each a “Director”) of GoFintech Innovation Limited (“GoFintech” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries collectively referred to as the “Group”), I am pleased to present the annual report of the Group for the year ended 31 March 2024 (the “Reporting Year”).

In the past year, we worked together to actively respond to the grim market environment and the complicated changes in the industry and strived to achieve new breakthroughs and results in our pursuit of sustainable and high-quality development. As a result, all our business segments advanced steadily, with our middle-and back-office support systems further improved and team cohesion and creativity further enhanced, thereby further consolidating the foundation for the long-term development of the Group’s businesses.

During the past year, we continued to make steady progress in fully-licensed financial services, with sustained focus on product improvement and service enhancement. We innovated our business processes and optimised our business models, and achieved a sustained and steady increase in revenue. During the Reporting Year, we further advanced our business deployment in the field of Web 3.0 by investing heavily in the research and development of technologies in this field and exploring scenario applications in the fintech industry, and commenced out investing and planning activities in relation to cryptocurrencies and compliant virtual asset funds, with an aim to lay a solid foundation for our in-depth development in the field of Web 3.0 and overall transformation under the Web 3.0 strategy.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE

We are pleased to announce that we achieved encouraging operating and financial results during the Reporting Year with strong revenue growth and significant improvement in profits and losses. Our business models of client-centered fully-licensed financial services demonstrated strong financial resilience. During the Reporting Year, the net amount of total revenue and net losses on investments at fair value through profit or loss increased by 106.05% year-on-year to HK$45.98 million. In particular, our securities business maintained strong growth momentum with the net amount of revenue and net losses on investments at fair value through profit or loss surging 406.92% year-on-year to HK$37.05 million. On the other hand, we have consistently focused on cost reduction and efficiency enhancement, improving operational efficiency and profitability. Despite prioritising our investment in the research and development of innovative financial technology, we were able to significantly narrow our net losses by 47.87% to HK$30.68 million compared to the same period last year.

The Group has been committed to optimising its balance sheet structure, enhancing capital adequacy and improving asset quality. At the end of the Reporting Year, the Group’s total assets reached HK$1,092 million, representing an increase of 129.57% as compared to the end of the previous reporting year. Current assets accounted for 79.12%, reflecting the Group’s abundant liquidity and healthy asset structure. As at the end of the Reporting Year, the Group’s total liabilities amounted to HK$305 million, in which the interest-bearing liabilities amounted to HK$24 million, while the debt ratio, defined as total liabilities over total assets, reduced from 37.69% as at the end of the previous reporting year to 27.96% as at the end of the Reporting Year. The total equity amounted to HK$787 million as at the end of the Reporting Year, representing an increase of 165.40% as compared to the end of the previous reporting year. As at 31 March 2024, our cash and cash equivalents was HK$289 million, maintaining at a healthy and reasonable level.

STRATEGY AND OPERATION OF THE GROUP

We are keenly aware that the current economic growth model is undergoing rapid changes. Technological changes in artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, Web 3.0 and other fields are accelerating the restructuring of many industries. In the face of such changes, we always adhere to the customer-centric approach and stay true to our original aspirations of “creating value for our customers” so as to lay a solid foundation for the long-term and sustainable development of the Group’s businesses.

In the field of brokerage services, we were committed to expanding our diversified customer groups, including domestic and overseas institutions, enterprises and high net worth clients. We continued to develop towards wealth management, diversify our products and differentiate our services, comprehensively enhance customer service capabilities, improve our fundamental trading capabilities and build our investment advisory capabilities. We developed professional buy-side investment advisory services based on customer needs and accelerated the digitalisation of brokerage services to empower the development of the securities business. Meanwhile, we vigorously developed two-way cross- border businesses and provided integrated one-stop services, striving to create greater value for our customers.

In the field of asset management, we leveraged our in-depth insight into the opportunities in the capital market, enhanced our business development capabilities in the volatile market by continuously enhancing our capabilities in asset management, sales and services, product offering, compliance and risk control, so as to optimise asset allocation and improve asset returns. Currently, the asset management segment of the Group offers a wide range of asset management products covering various types of domestic and overseas equity and debt securities, derivatives, and virtual asset funds. It possesses cross-border asset management qualifications such as QFII, QFLP and QDIE, and provides investors with the design, management, and services of multiple forms of offshore investment funds.

In the field of investment banking, we maintained parallel development of equity and debt investment businesses, and continued to vigorously expand our M&A and restructuring businesses, sponsor business and underwriting services. In terms of debt investment business, we actively explored the development of overseas debt markets for Chinese enterprises, deeply tapped into the bond demands of different types of clients, seized the windows of issuance and underwriting to serve our clients and provided integrated equity and debt solutions. During the Reporting Year, the Group provided over 20 corporate customers with investment, financing and other consultancy services. As an underwriter, we successfully assisted a variety of domestic and overseas companies in fundraising in the stock market and introduced high-quality investors for enterprises. The Group ranked among the top in the industry in terms of the number of projects and the amount of funds raised.

In the field of technological innovation investment, we leveraged on our synergy in “investment + investment banking + management” and constantly improved our investment capability and knowledge in Web 3.0, quantum technology, blockchain, intelligent investment advisory, clean energy, tech-innovative healthcare, etc. With a focus on such areas, we carried out in- depth business planning, completed investments in various technology innovation enterprises such as MaiCapital, empowering the invested enterprises by providing all-round support in finance, management and human resources, and at the same time, strengthening synergy with investment banking and other business lines to assist the invested companies in development and capital appreciation.

UPHOLDING THE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION-FOCUSED STRATEGY AND EXPLORING NEW DEVELOPMENT DRIVERS

We are fully aware of the importance of science and technology innovation to our future development. Improving our technological innovation system and accelerating the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy are crucial to strengthen the core competitiveness of the Group. As an international financial centre and fintech hub, Hong Kong, with its continuously optimised fintech service hardware and software, is the most ideal fintech development centre globally, and the Hong Kong government is also a strong supporter of technological innovation. In April 2024, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) welcomed the listing of Asia’s first spot virtual asset ETFs, and took the lead globally to approve the listing of the first Ether spot ETF, enriching investment opportunities in respect of the product diversity and vitality of new-type assets in Hong Kong. The digital economy brought about by the Web 3.0 era is the most promising investment track in the future. The Company will keep up with the times and seize the opportunities, prioritizing the planning and development of business relating to technological innovation, identifying more quality projects and exploring new drivers for the Group’s business development.

INTRODUCING STRATEGIC SHAREHOLDERS TO INCREASE CAPITAL AND IMPROVE CAPITAL ADEQUACY

The Company successfully completed two fundraising activities through placing under general mandate and rights issue in August 2023 and February 2024, raising net proceeds (after deduction of relevant costs and expenses) of HK$52.64 million and HK$470.82 million, respectively. Through the successful implementation of the aforementioned financing activities, the Group further optimised its asset-liability structure, enhanced its capital adequacy and introduced strategic shareholders. We believe that such financing activities will enhance the overall competitiveness of the Group’s businesses, concentrate its advantageous resources on exploring the future of fintech, investing in and expanding into emerging business areas such as Web 3.0 and quantum computing, and propelling the Group to achieve new breakthroughs in its business development.

OUTLOOK

Looking ahead, the Company will continue to focus on the core business of sustainable growth, deeply explore and manage customer needs, focus on improving customer value, practise technology-driven financial innovation, improve the comprehensive service level and capabilities of our financial business, and advance our fully-licensed financial business into a new stage of high-quality development.

Meanwhile, we will also continue to focus on technological innovation, accelerate the conversion of new and existing development drivers, implement strategic adjustments, and focus on core directions of business development. We will actively embrace the opportunities brought by innovative technologies such as Web 3.0 and quantum computing, continue to explore technology scenario applications in emerging fields and seize investment opportunities in emerging fields. We believe that we are standing at a new starting point, and the integrated financial services model of cross-border and cross-industry investment and investment banking that we practise, with the backing of our motherland and global reach, will surely lead the Group back to the track of growth and profitability, and will continue to power the Group’s business growth in the years to come.

The fiery times forge the genuine gold. With the overall situation in mind, we are full of confidence in the future and will maintain our strategic focus and reinforce the guidance and empowerment of strategies on business development. We will adhere to the action philosophy of “promoting investment banking with investment, nurturing tradition with innovation”, unswervingly introduce strategic shareholders for capital increase, continue to expand capital scale and enhance our influence and reputation in the capital market. We will boost business development with capital advantages, consolidate the core competitive advantages of our businesses, and broaden the moat of our businesses. With technology as our wings and capital as our rudder, we will speed up in the development of the Group into an integrated first-class financial technology group with comprehensive business, rational structure, regional influence and global presence, and continue to create value for our shareholders, customers and partners.

CHAN Kin Sang
Chairman

Hong Kong, 26 June 2024