Chinese venture capital firm Pando Group invests US$2m in Israeli workspace for start-ups

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Co-founder of Israeli startup Skyfi, Raz Itzhaki Tamir, gestures during a demonstration in an anechoic chamber where the company performs tests on their development, the first self-correcting antenna that can turn mini-satellites into powerful transmitters covering the globe to provide worldwide internet access. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:22pm, 6 Mar 2016Updated: 9:22pm, 6 Mar 2016

A financial technology (fintech) hub in Israel has opened with the backing of Chinese investors to help connect Israeli technology with the world’s second-largest economy.

Chinese venture capital firm Pando Group has invested US$2 million (HK$15.53 million) in fintech hub The Floor in Tel Aviv, to create an academy for start-ups to learn about regulation, investment banking, retail banking and corporate banking.

The Floor will act as a hub for financial technology companies in Israel offering a co-working space, a research and development centre and potential partnerships with banks. Bank partners for The Floor include HSBC, Banco Santander and RBS.

“We believe that having a Chinese partner as a major stakeholder will lead in the short term to joint ventures between Israeli and Chinese vendors as well as banks,” said Oded Ron Edoute, general partner at Pando Group. “In the long term we could use the Israeli floor hub as a model and create a similar hub in China.”

The Floor and investors Pando Group plan to connect Israeli fintech companies with banks in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Tel Aviv is home to a growing number of start-ups and is ranked fifth in the Compass global start-up ecosystem ranking for 2015.

There are 430 fintech start-ups in Israel, according to the founders of The Floor.