OneConnect Showcases at WDET2026:
KUALA LUMPUR – The 5th World Digital Economy and Technology Summit (WDET2026) convened recently at the World Trade Centre (WTC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Co‑hosted by the KSI Asia‑Pacific Strategic Institute and the World Digital Chamber, the summit centered on “Unleashing the Potential of AI and Digital Technologies”. It brought together government and business leaders, tech executives and academic experts from ASEAN and across the globe to discuss new opportunities for AI‑fueled regional digital transformation and economic growth. Fadillah Yusof, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transition of Malaysia, delivered a keynote address at the event.
Matthew Chen, General Manager of OneConnect’s Banking Division and CEO for Southeast Asia, was an invited speaker. He joined the premier panel discussion titled Beyond Digital Transformation: ASEAN in the Era of Autonomous Systems. Together with representatives from Silverlake Group, Cloudvise International Southeast Asia and the WDC International Advisory Group, he engaged in in‑depth dialogue on AI‑driven innovation across fintech, autonomous systems and regional collaboration.
Chen shared OneConnect’s on‑the‑ground experience in Southeast Asia as well as insights behind its global‑technology‑expansion strategy. He noted that Southeast Asia boasts enormous digital‑economic potential, yet gaps remain across nations in financial‑infrastructure development and digital maturity. Fintech players should not merely export proven technologies; they ought to open product source code to help local financial institutions build self‑sustaining digital capabilities and unlock long‑term technological and industrial value.
Drawing on years of overseas deployment experience, Chen put forward the concept of “Technology Inclusion”. Cutting‑edge technologies such as artificial intelligence should not be reserved exclusively for large‑scale organizations. Instead, they must serve as a catalyst for inclusive finance and greater access to financial services. Technology firms should drive adoption through open‑sharing approaches so that a broader base of financial institutions and end‑users can benefit from digital innovation.
Guided by this philosophy, OneConnect has been developing locally‑tailored cooperation frameworks. Leveraging the BOT (Build‑Operate‑Transfer) model, the firm enables regional financial players to accelerate digital capability building through full‑cycle knowledge transfer spanning system deployment, operational support and independent self‑governance. Powered by core capabilities including artificial intelligence, data technologies and intelligent risk control, OneConnect is advancing real‑world use cases covering digital‑bank development, smart lending, micro‑and‑small‑enterprise finance and ESG management, helping local financial institutions boost operational efficiency and service quality.
Chen emphasized that OneConnect positions itself as a technology partner and ecosystem co‑builder. Rather than directly conducting local financial operations, the fintech provider leverages its technical strengths to partner with regional financial institutions to advance digital‑finance ecosystem development and financial‑infrastructure modernization, charting new pathways for financial‑sector innovation in the AI era.
As Ping An Group’s exclusive technology‑export arm and key overseas‑expansion gateway, OneConnect rolled out its international strategy back in 2018. It has since refined a sustainable go‑global model defined by “light‑weight replication, long‑term accompaniment and ecosystem linkage”, evolving from early‑stage product export toward integrated technology delivery plus business synergy. Today, the company runs a global operation network with Singapore serving as its Southeast‑Asia regional headquarters and R&D hub. Its footprint extends to more than 20 countries and territories including Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South Africa, with over 200 overseas financial‑institution clients to date.
Moving forward, OneConnect will keep deepening integration between frontier technologies such as AI and data and real‑world financial scenarios. It will work hand‑in‑hand with worldwide partners to foster an open, inclusive and sustainable digital‑finance ecosystem, injecting robust technological momentum into high‑quality regional digital‑economic growth.
