Finweek Kuala Lumpur 2026 · Founding Edition · Wednesday 11 November 2026 · PARKROYAL COLLECTION Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR / BRATISLAVA, 2 November 2026 — The global financial axis is shifting. While Europe has built the world’s most comprehensive regulatory architecture with MiCA and digital finance frameworks, ASEAN is driving the world’s fastest-growing digital economy. On Wednesday, 11 November 2026, the two regions will stop talking about cooperation in theory and start building shared market infrastructure in practice.
At the Founding Edition of Finweek Kuala Lumpur 2026, the premier EU–ASEAN institutional fintech summit, the national fintech associations of twelve countries will take the main stage to sign the Founding Memorandum of the EU–ASEAN Investment Gateway.
Convened by Finweek Global, the organiser, together with Fintech Valley Europe as co-organiser and in partnership with the International Digital Economies Association (IDEA), which spans 100 countries, endorsed by the European Digital Finance Association (EDFA) as the European network, and joined by the Global FinTech Alliance (GFA), the coalition unites national associations from Slovakia (FINAS), Czechia, Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova (Fintech Moldova) and Armenia (FinTech Armenia, together with FinTech EurAsia) with their counterparts across Indonesia (AFSI, Asosiasi Blockchain Indonesia), Myanmar (MDEA, FinTech Alliance Myanmar), Cambodia (CAFT), Vietnam (APAC DAO / Vietnam Fintech Summit), the Philippines and Malaysia, the host nation. Together, they represent thousands of financial technology innovators across Europe, ASEAN, and Eurasia.
A Sovereign Gateway for Capital and Regulation
Finweek Kuala Lumpur is not a conventional commercial event. It is a B2G and B2B diplomatic platform designed to turn regulatory alignment into cross-border deal flow.
At the heart of the summit is the Regulators’ Table, chaired by Kati Ferry (CEO, EUROCHAM Malaysia). Inside one room, senior policymakers and supervisors from the European Banking Authority (EBA, Rūta Merkevičiūtė, Head of the Digital Finance Unit), the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic (Martin Peter, Director of the Banking Department), Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) of Indonesia (R. Rinto, Director, Digital Services and Cybersecurity Specialist Group), the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA, Doreen Fadli, Acting Director, Market Development & Innovations), the Trust Regulator of Cambodia (Sakal Ney, Deputy Director General) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines will address the hard operational realities of cross-border finance: real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation, the practical lessons of Europe’s MiCA framework, cross-border settlement, and stablecoin supervision.
Diplomatic momentum carries onto the main stage as the Ambassadors of the Czech Republic (H.E. Juraj Koudelka), Hungary (H.E. Dr Sándor Sipos), and Ukraine (H.E. Dr Hennadii Nadolenko), alongside senior diplomatic representatives of the Embassy of Indonesia and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic, officially open the afternoon Corridor block.
“Fintech no longer needs just founders; it needs diplomats,” said Davy Čajko, Founder of Finweek, President of FINAS (Fintech & Insurtech Association of Slovakia), and architect of the EU–ASEAN corridor. “Europe brings deep institutional capital and regulatory clarity through MiCA. ASEAN brings unmatched demographic energy, rapid adoption, and scale. Yet until today, a founder or investor crossing between our regions had to navigate fragmented rules alone. On 11 November, we are putting European and ASEAN regulators, ambassadors, and the associations of twelve countries into one room, not to exchange business cards, but to sign a joint commitment, announce the Malaysia Fintech Radar partnership, and open a Sovereign Gateway for capital and talent.”
The Malaysia Fintech Radar: a research partnership announced
To move capital across borders, institutional investors need verified data, not just stage panels. A flagship milestone of the Founding Edition (16:40 MYT) is the announcement of the research partnership behind the Malaysia Fintech Radar, presented by Dr Masrina Nadia Mohd Salleh of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Five Pillars of the Main Stage (11 November 2026)
Instead of generic keynotes, the summit’s confirmed leaders focus on what actually runs in production:
Cyber Sovereignty & The ASEAN Investment Thesis (09:30–10:25): Following opening remarks by Davy Čajko and Kati Ferry (EUROCHAM Malaysia), YBhg. Dato’ Ts. Dr. Haji Amirudin Abdul Wahab (Special Advisor on Cybersecurity & Digital Technology to HH The Crown Prince of Selangor; former CEO, CyberSecurity Malaysia) delivers the opening keynote on digital sovereignty and cyber resilience. The investment fireside follows with Farah Jaafar (Straits Investment Bank), Nicholas Kew (Crewstone International), and Dr Bilal İlhan (Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Investment and Finance Office).
AI in Financial Operations: From Pilots to Accountability (10:45): Moderated by Firuz Alimov (The AI Collective), bringing together policy architects and front-line operators: Sam Majid (Former CEO, National AI Office Malaysia), Dr Aini Suzana Ariffin (Industrial Institute of Responsible AI), Dr Sekar Jaganathan (Kenanga Investment Bank), Lolitta Suffian (Bank Simpanan Nasional), Nate Wentzlaff (FinanTEXT, USA), and Eddy Wong Kok Hoe (VSure).
Islamic Digital Finance at Scale & The ASEAN–GCC–EU Nexus (11:35): Chaired by Aida Lim Abdullah (MFPC), examining sukuk tokenisation and Shariah-compliant digital assets with Vikra Ijas (AFSI Indonesia), Prof. Irfan Syauqi Beik (IPB University), Effendy Zulkifly (YAPEIM Holdings), and Muttmaein Zairul (Masryef Advisory).
Tokenisation, RWA & Cross-Border Stablecoins (14:10–16:25): Featuring an opening industry case by Tran Hung (CEO, Uquid), a regulatory keynote on the MiCA gateway by Martin Peter (Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic), and the flagship Tokenisation panel with Michael Heaney (EY Malaysia), Krishnavenee Krishnan (KLDX), Jason Ding (MHub / Malaysia Proptech Association), and Shinoy Varghese (S&P Global Ratings). At 15:35, Gerard M. Pillai (PIKOM) leads the cross-border payments and stablecoin debate with Razin Nizar (Pragmax Consulting), Muhammad Yusuf Musa (Nanovest / Asosiasi Blockchain Indonesia), Edison Tan (EMAS ESTATE) and Harpreet Singh (Access Blockchain).
The Founding Circle, Corridor Showcase & Startup Pitch (12:30 & 16:50–18:10): High-growth startups including GORO, Koha Digital, and GoBarakah pitch to an international investor jury (Vatsala Arunachalam, Karen S Puah, Ben Stubbings, Audra Pakalnytė, Dr Alexander Titov). In the afternoon, Cristina Amor Maclang (IDEA / Global FinTech Alliance) chairs the Founding Circle townhall with association presidents and a message from Alessandra Guion, Chair of the Board of the European Digital Finance Association (EDFA), followed by Tan Sri Michael Yeoh (President, KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific) chairing the Corridor Showcase with Dr Zsolt Polereczki (Neuron Labs) and Matthew Barsing (ASEAN Rising), culminating in the 17:50 Signing Ceremony and the Founding Dinner.
Landing Day in TRX (Thursday, 12 November 2026)
Because market entry happens on the ground, Landing Day takes visiting European delegations, regulators, and investors out of the ballroom and directly into Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), Malaysia’s international financial district, starting at INFINITY8 Reserve TRX (The Mastermind Mansion, Level 23), to connect directly with licensing authorities, innovation hubs, and financial institutions where European companies establish their ASEAN headquarters.
Building on European Momentum
The Kuala Lumpur Founding Edition follows the milestone 10th anniversary edition of Finweek Bratislava (13–14 October 2026), which welcomed 81 speakers from 15 countries, more than 400 registrations from 26 countries, and six public authorities, where H.E. Dato’ Fenny Nuli, Ambassador of Malaysia in Vienna, inaugurated the Europe–Asia corridor dialogue.
Registration, Partnerships & Media Accreditation
Finweek Kuala Lumpur 2026 is organised by Finweek Global and co-organised by Fintech Valley Europe, in partnership with the International Digital Economies Association (IDEA), with the support of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Kuala Lumpur, Charlton Media Group as Official Media Partner, IFN (REDmoney Group) as Official Islamic Finance Media Partner, and AlHuda CIBE as media partner.
- Summit Pass (11 November): MYR 699 · EUR 142 · USD 154
- Founding Dinner Seat (11 November, 19:30, by invitation / limited paid allocation): MYR 1,476 · EUR 300 · USD 326
- Venue: PARKROYAL COLLECTION Kuala Lumpur (COLLECTION Ballroom)
- Registration & Programme: www.finweek.my
For institutional partnerships, hosted dinner tables, pre-booked bilateral meetings, or press accreditation (including press positions for the 17:50 Memorandum Signing Ceremony), please contact:
Media & Institutional Contacts
Davy Čajko, CEO & Founder, Finweek Kuala Lumpur 2026 · [email protected] · +421 903 429 190
Slávka Mikulášiková, Event Manager · [email protected]
Media relations: Peter Bielčík · [email protected]
