[Feature] Key Summaries and Policies of the Hong Kong Fintech Week (Updated Daily)

What is this week about?

The 7th Hong Kong FinTech Week will be held from October 31st to November 4th at a physical venue coupled with online streaming. There will be numerous conferences, forums, exhibitions, business matching, and networking. Participants include more than 250 international speakers, 400 exhibitors, 30 delegations, and over 20,000 confirmed attendees.

The 7th Hong Kong Fintech Week has officially started. Coinlive will be filtering important key points and policies mentioned throughout the week and providing updates in this article on a real-time basis.

October 31st

1. The Hong Kong SAR government unveils policies to develop the virtual assets industry and looking to launch the trial of e-HKD digital currency

The Hong Kong SAR Government today issued a policy statement on the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong, reiterating their stance to continue focusing on the development of a vibrant virtual asset industry and ecosystem in the country. The policy statement covers the following topics:

i. Vision and policy: Hong Kong is an international financial centre and adopts an open and inclusive attitude towards global innovators in the virtual asset industry. The Government is now working with financial regulators to create a favourable environment for the sustainable and responsible growth of this industry. They will introduce necessary regulations in a timely manner to mitigate actual and potential risks in accordance with international standards, so that virtual asset innovation can flourish sustainably in Hong Kong.

ii. Regulation: We believe that a consistent and transparent overall regulatory framework can lay a solid foundation to meet the financial innovation and technological development brought about by the rapid development of global virtual assets. While stepping up preparations for a new licensing system for virtual asset service providers, we are also happy to invite relevant exchanges to explore business opportunities in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will launch a public consultation on the appropriate extent of virtual assets that retail investors can trade under the new licensing regime. The government welcomes the introduction of virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong. The government is also open to reviewing the legality of property rights and smart contracts of tokenized assets in the future in Hong Kong. Further notes on the regulatory regime for stablecoins will be released later as well.

iii. Pilot scheme: The government is studying the launch of pilot schemes to test the technical benefits of virtual assets and extend these benefits to the financial market. These pilot schemes include the issuance of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for Hong Kong FinTech Week 2022, green bond tokenization, and the digital Hong Kong dollar.

iv. Outlook: We will implement the vision set out in this policy statement through relevant policies, balanced and risk-based regulation, as well as various pilot programs. The government sincerely invites the global virtual asset industry to join hands with them, leveraging Hong Kong's status as an international financial center to unleash the full potential of financial innovation in a clear, flexible, and convenient regulatory environment.

2. Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission: Support Metaverse, NFT, GameFi innovation, and actively explore an appropriate regulatory framework for tokenized assets

Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Intermediary Department Liang Fengyi said: SFC has adopted a rigorous regulatory structure since 2018, but will be supporting innovation and development, especially in the aspects of Metaverse, art NFTs, and GameFi. Hong Kong is also actively exploring an appropriate regulatory framework for tokenized assets.

Initially, SFC felt that the industry was too immature as only professional investors were trading virtual assets in the past. 4 years later, investors have more knowledge and experience. The whole ecosystem is also more mature, and many international financial institutions have entered the ecosystem. Exchanges and institutions are also more regulated. SFC is now also reviewing whether this industry can be gradually opened to individual investors in Hongkong.

3. Hong Kong Monetary Authority President Wai Man: Open to reviewing the legality of tokenized asset property rights and smart contracts

In a live speech at the Hong Kong Fintech Week, the President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Yu Weiwen, talked about the property rights of tokenized assets, saying: "We recognize that virtual assets have unique characteristics that are different from traditional assets, and their characteristics may not fully conform to the current private ownership in Hong Kong. The government is open to future reviewing of tokenized asset property rights and reviewing the legality of smart contracts to facilitate adoption and enhance investor protection.

4. Yu Weiwen, President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Expected to complete the first batch of tokenized green bond trial issuance within this year

Yu Weiwen, President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said that the first batch of experimental tokenized green bonds is currently being prepared, and the target is to complete it within this year, hoping to become the world's first tokenized green bond.

Yu Weiwen said that he is still working with consultants on the issuance method and amount of tokenized green bonds, and the first batch is mainly open to institutional investors for subscription.

5. Yi Gang, Governor of the Central Bank: The Central Bank is willing to strengthen cooperation with various monetary authorities and international institutions in CBDC

Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China, said that when designing the digital currency, they will protect personal privacy while maintaining financial security through "two-tiered operation" and "controllable anonymity".

Currently, the PBOC is working with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other monetary authorities in CBDC. It is hoped that such cooperation can better serve the needs of the international and domestic markets and help consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.

6. New World Development Zheng Zhigang: Seize the three major opportunities, Hong Kong will become a global virtual asset center

Zheng Zhigang, CEO of New World Development, said in his speech that Hong Kong will be able to embrace three major opportunities and become a unique global virtual asset center. These three include "digital financial asset issuance center", "a comprehensive ecosystem combining traditional and digital finance" and "Cross-border blockchain financial center in the Greater Bay Area”.

In response to the Hong Kong SAR government's launch of the "virtual asset service provider" licensing system next year, Zheng Zhigang pointed out that this will be an epoch-making change for Hong Kong as an international financial center.

He also said that in the past 30 years, Hong Kong has always occupied an important seat in the world securities issuance market, and Hong Kong has long held an important market share in global securities issuance.

In addition, Zheng Zhigang believes that if Hong Kong can successfully build a comprehensive "cross-border blockchain financial platform", it will help the development of the central bank's digital currency (CBDC), including improving the efficiency of "peer-to-peer transactions", more efficient lending platforms and trading options.

He also bluntly stated that to establish this set of "cross-border blockchain financial platforms", more comprehensive support from the government is needed, and more world-class talents are needed to work together to build it together.