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Hong Kong releases policy declaration on the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong, targeting global virtual asset centers

The Financial Secretary of Hong Kong has released a policy declaration on the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong, clarifying the regulatory attitude towards virtual assets. The determination of virtual assets is indispensable, and the Hong Kong government strives to become a global center for virtual assets.

On the 31st, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government issued a policy declaration on the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong, clarifying the government's policy stance and guidelines for developing a dynamic virtual asset industry and ecosystem in Hong Kong. The declaration states that Hong Kong is an international financial center, and the SAR government holds an open and inclusive attitude towards innovators engaged in virtual asset business worldwide.

The declaration states that the SAR government is working with financial regulatory agencies to create a convenient environment to promote the sustainable and responsible development of Hong Kong's virtual asset industry. The SAR government will timely formulate rules to mitigate actual and potential risks in accordance with international standards, allowing virtual asset innovation to flourish in Hong Kong in a sustainable manner.

The Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Paul Chan, delivered a video speech at the opening of the Hong Kong Fintech Week on the same day, stating that the policy declaration mentioned the SAR government's vision, regulatory and experimental plans for virtual assets. The SAR government looks forward to seizing the opportunities that virtual assets may bring, such as technological progress and financial innovation.

We hope to clarify our policy stance to the global market and demonstrate our determination to explore financial innovation together with the global virtual asset community, "he said.

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Yu Weiwen, stated at the Hong Kong Fintech Week that the fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong is rapidly developing. Regulatory agencies need to reasonably embrace innovation, but at the same time ensure financial stability and make consumers and investors aware of related risks.

Yi Gang, President of the People's Bank of China, said when attending the Hong Kong Financial Technology Week by video that the People's Bank of China is cooperating with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other monetary authorities on the central bank's digital currency, hoping that such cooperation can better serve the needs of international and domestic markets and help consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international financial center.

In addition, the declaration states that the SAR government and regulatory agencies are studying the launch of three pilot schemes, including the issuance of non fungible tokens (NFTs), tokenization of green bonds, and digital Hong Kong dollars during Hong Kong Fintech Week, to test the technological benefits brought by virtual assets and attempt to further apply relevant technologies to the financial market.

Regarding this declaration, Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Patrick Hui, said: "Hong Kong believes that distributed ledger technology (DLT) and Web 3.0 have the potential to become the future of finance and business, and these technologies are expected to improve efficiency and transparency under appropriate regulation. The government is ready to embrace the future, and Hong Kong welcomes the convergence of the fintech and virtual capital industries and talents. Hong Kong will strive to promote sustainable development of financial services throughout the entire virtual asset value chain. ”

Hong Kong remains the third largest financial center in the world after New York and London, with significantly higher trading volumes for various financial assets than Singapore. As one of the regions with the fastest wealth growth in the world, Asia has a huge demand for digital assets from institutional investors and high net worth individual investors. A large number of investors intend to participate in the digital asset market through Hong Kong financial institutions. We believe that both Hong Kong and Singapore have their own advantages in the development of the digital asset market.