Hello and welcome to Exactpro updates. My name is Dmitri and I’m a creative manager and a member
of the Research team with Exactpro. With me today is Hiroshi Matsubara, Exactpro Director
of Business Development in Japan & Asia Pacific and Co-Chair of the Japan regional committee of
the FIX Trading Community. Greetings and thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Matsu.
Hello and thank you for having me here.
Now, I understand that your experience in fintech is quite extensive.
Tell us a bit about the journey that has led you to Exactpro.
Actually my interest in the final days at the university was to become a journalist.
I managed to get an editorial position with a Japanese news agency.
But ended up joining Reuters London as a general management trainee from Reuters Asia.
Since then, I have been engaged mainly in marketing and business development capacity
with the financial information and electronic transaction business for more than 30 years. I had
worked with Reuters for 17 years and most recently with Fidessa (now in ION Group) for 15 years.
Also, I have been spending my time and energy with the industry activities and, like you said, have
been serving as Co-chair for the Japan Regional Committee of the FIX Trading Community since 2007
by taking the industry thought leadership role in the Tokyo financial trading community.
Earlier this year, I decide to set up my own business called Pine Grove Research, mainly to serve
those overseas Fintech firms, which are looking to expand their business into Japan and Asia.
I would say you are a vital part of this transition into the - literally - new territory.
I would be happy to contribute to Exactpro
as an integral part of the business development team, with my market experience so far and expertise to
help Exactpro to build its position of the leading provider of software testing in the local market.
And we are extremely grateful for that. So, what are your first steps in
reaching your goal as Exactpro’s Director of Business Development for Asia-Pacific?
It is critical to start building brand recognition by participating in key local industrial events. Our nearest
event is the upcoming Japan Electronic Trading Conference 2021 taking place on 7 October.
This is actually the event I've been working on with the industrial colleagues here, since earlier this year with my Co-chair head of
the department FIX Community.
In terms of the business development strategy,my plan is to try expanding the local client base
both on traditional asset exchanges and also moving into the digital assets space,
encompassing venues trading crypto assets and digital securities.
Thanks for sharing that, Matsu.
On a separate note, what, would you say, makes the fintech space in Japan and APAC different
from the rest of the world, and what are the main challenges in the region, if you see any?
If I try to describe the characteristics of the Asian market in one word, that will be
“diversity”, meaning diversity across the region. Unlike Europe, APAC has disparate economies
and lacks a common economic community. Or unlike the US either with makes a huge domestic market in itself.
Major financial centres in APAC (such as Tokyo, Singapore, HK, Sydney and mainland China) are
facing similar situations and issues around their regulatory and market structures, so
that fragmentation in the region will remain a big challenge for the development of the whole Asia.
Having said that, on the other hand, diversity can create a powerful energy and can be a catalyst for
the region’s evolution. For example, the Singapore government and its regulatory authority MAS
is working hard to nurture the Fintech industry there. They work hard on promoting digital assets
along with its focus on green finance, among other things. And the Japanese FSA was one of
the initial regulatory authorities in the world to implement the formal regulatory structure for
trading crypto currencies. Therefore, combined with its potential market size in Asia after all,
I am sure that Japan and Asia will take a lead role in the ongoing evolution of
the global Fintech industry, especially with digital assets markets.
That was very informative. Thank you for these insights, Matsu.
Thank you again, Dmitri for giving this opportunity today.
We certainly wish you good luck in your new role and look forward to working
with you in the months and years to come. We’d like to thank our audience for tuning in.
If you want to learn more about Exactpro, feel free to visit our website at Exactpro.com for
more information or contact us via the email you are seeing on your screen.
Thank you for watching and see you on our channel.