Hong Kong Business News

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui has started his visit to the Netherlands by meeting senior financial officials and fintech professionals as well as joining fintech event Money 20/20 Europe.

During the fireside chat "Regulating the Next Wave of Financial Innovation: Lessons from the East" at Money 20/20 Europe, Mr Hui spoke on Hong Kong's initiatives, including tokenisation of real world assets and payment and how they could be applied to companies and institutions around the world.

Mr Hui said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government took the global lead in issuing two batches of tokenised green bonds, with the first batch issued in February 2023 as the first government green bond issued by tokenisation in the world.

The second batch was issued early this year amounting to US$770 million, the first multi-currency government green bond issued in a digitally native format globally.

Highlighting that a vision statement on developing the sustainability disclosure ecosystem in Hong Kong was issued in March, Mr Hui said the Hong Kong SAR Government and financial regulators aim for the city to be among the first jurisdictions to align the local sustainability disclosure requirements with the International Financial Reporting Standards - Sustainability Disclosure Standards, showcasing Hong Kong's commitment to reinforcing its leading position on the international sustainable finance map.

Meanwhile, a collaborative effort is being led involving the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to advance the mBridge project, the largest cross-border central bank digital currency project to date to provide a low-cost and fast payment method for international trade settlement.

By participating in the mBridge project, Hong Kong can work closely with the Bank for International Settlements and other central banks to expand and deepen research on central bank digital currencies, assisting in the city’s application of new financial technologies to cross-border payments.

The public consultation in Hong Kong on the legislative proposal to regulate issuers of stablecoin was completed recently. Mr Hui noted that with the relevant licensing, supervisory and enforcement parameters in place, the risks associated with stablecoin development in the city could be properly managed in line with international standards.

Also during the fireside chat, he encouraged fintech, digital assets and Web3 companies to visit Hong Kong to gain first-hand experience of its vibrant ecosystem and opportunities of mutually beneficial collaborations.

On the sidelines of Money 20/20 Europe, the financial services chief held separate meetings with the top management of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency and a partner of a venture capital firm to share experiences in building a sustainable Web3 ecosystem and explore the collaboration opportunities in promoting fintech.

     

The previous day, Mr Hui met Deputy Treasurer-General and Director Financial Markets, Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands Joost Smits at the Hague and Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets Chair Laura van Geest in Amsterdam.

They discussed issues of mutual concern such as the provision of a sound financial regulatory system for healthy and sustainable market development as well as bond issuance policies.

Paying a courtesy call on Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands Tan Jian at the Hague, Mr Hui noted that both Hong Kong and the Netherlands attach great importance to sustainable economy and innovation and technology, adding that Hong Kong can make use of the unique advantage of "one country, two systems" to leverage the development of the Greater Bay Area to promote co-operation between the Netherlands and the Mainland.

At a dinner gathering with heads of fintech, wealth management and IT companies as well as trade associations in Amsterdam, he outlined Hong Kong's latest financial innovations for a sustainable Web3 ecosystem and its strengths in providing channels for asset allocation, particularly the initiatives in developing family office business.

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