After winning the global Kaggle challenge co-organized by Hang Seng Bank, Hang Seng Indexes, and Cyberport, INF's product now brings new levels of efficiency and agility to flagship index calculation, demonstrating the power of collaborative innovation.
Index-based investing has become a central trend in asset management, marked by continuous growth in scale, product innovation, and diversification of asset classes. As Ms. Anita Mo, CEO of Hang Seng Indexes Company, emphasized, the company continually refines its index methodology and product ecosystem to help investors capture market opportunities. By the end of October this year, the total AUM of products passively tracking the Hang Seng Indexes Series exceeded USD 110 billion—reflecting strong international confidence in Hong Kong’s capital market and growing demand for indices and related data.
Fast breakthrough: From Challenge To Deployment
In August 2024, Hang Seng Bank, Hang Seng Indexes Company, and Cyberport launched the Hang Seng Index Innovation Challenge on Kaggle, tasking participants with creating a generative AI solution for calculating the Free-Float Adjustment Factor (FAF)—a crucial component in index computation. INF emerged as the winner among over 200 global participants.
Nurtured within the "Index Innovation Lab" – established by Hang Seng Indexes and Cyberport – the partnership enabled INF to collaborate with Hang Seng Indexes Company on developing a pioneering GenAI solution for FAF calculation. Culminating in its official announcement on 4 November 2025, this product has now been fully integrated into the Hang Seng Indexes family, including flagship indexes such as the Hang Seng Index, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, and the Hang Seng TECH Index.
Technical Impact: Four-Dimensional Leap In Indexing
INF’s trust generative AI-powered agent brings transformative improvements across four key dimensions:
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Breadth: Expanding coverage from 600 to 2,600 constituent stocks—a 3x increase.
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Depth: Enhancing data processing quality and accuracy beyond manual capabilities.
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Speed: Shortening rebalancing cycles from quarterly to monthly,future to daily updates.
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Granularity: Enabling customization for thematic indices, such as sector-specific strategies.
INF's representative received the Index Innovation Challenge Award at the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2024.
Recognition From Ecosystem Leaders
"This solution, co-developed with INF, has significantly boosted our data processing efficiency and optimized operational standards," said Ms. Anita Mo, pointing out that it "demonstrates the immense potential of GenAI in finance."
This achievement was the result of a carefully designed co-creation process. As Dennis Wong, Head of Hang Seng Index Technology, shared, the process centered on three key elements: identifying the right partners, continuously fine-tuning our models and agentic systems to achieve high accuracy, and working collaboratively to integrate the solution within a secure banking environment.
Simon Chan, Chairman of Cyberport, stated: "We are thrilled to mark this significant milestone… showcasing AI’s transformative power in driving efficiency and innovation." He added, "We are proud that our community member, INF Hong Kong, delivers solutions embraced by a leading financial institution and contributes to the advancement of Hong Kong’s Fintech landscape."
Anita Wo, Director, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Client Management of Hang Seng Indexes Company
Technology Core: Trustworthy Generative AI
INF's solution integrates Neuro-Symbolic AI with Large Language Models (LLMs), enabling AI agents to follow complex business rules and deliver reliable, explainable decision-making. By automatically analyzing public materials such as financial reports, the system extracts and structures critical data at scale—accelerating processes while ensuring consistency and scalability, significantly boosting the efficiency and agility of index calculation.
Outlook: The Path Forward for Ecosystem-Led Innovation
This collaboration not only marks a pivotal advance in intelligent index construction but also provides a replicable model for the entire industry. It demonstrates that through collaborative ecosystems, trustworthy AI can be rapidly integrated into critical infrastructure, thereby solving critical challenges and paving the way for widespread intelligent innovation in finance.
