HONG KONG, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- "Regulation and innovation should develop hand in hand," said a representative of Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) at the 12th Asian Financial Forum that opened here on Monday, calling for global regulatory collaboration to tackle various challenges in 2019.

HKMA Deputy Chief Executive Eddie Yue made the remarks as he chaired a panel discussion on global financial risks and opportunities in 2019 that was attended by representatives of regulatory authorities of several economies.

Yue was referring to "new variables" brought by the emerging financial and technological innovation, especially the recent rapid advancement in the fields of green finance and Fintech. According to him, the innovation may lead to problems such as cybersecurity risks and regulatory challenges.

Echoing Yue's appeal, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia Sergey Shvetsov also called for collaboration of "regulators globally" on the financial innovation.

"Fintech can be future opportunities for emerging markets," he said, adding that the regulatory challenges it brings are cross-border ones.

Saying "there should be more expectations for green finance," Chairman of Dubai Financial Services Authority Saeb Eigner also pointed out that this field is still in lack of global standard.

The two-day Asian Financial Forum brought together over 130 policymakers, financial and business leaders and heavyweight investors from across the world to discuss the current global economic environment and share insights on the opportunities and challenges that businesses will face in the coming year.

Besides challenges derived from the new trends, speakers at panel discussions also talked about other financial risks in 2019, including international trade conflicts, geopolitical uncertainties such as Brexit, as well as U.S. monetary policy normalization.

"Today uncertainty is not so much about integration but about disintegration. Multilateralism and free trade have come under pressure, for example, with international trade conflicts. And with Brexit, disintegration is also at the moment a really big topic within Europe," said Burkhard Balz, a member of the executive board of Deutsche Bundesbank.

"Against this background, from my point of view, it's essential to increase resilience of the financial system with post-crisis reforms that advance the overall systems stability," he suggested.