At Web Summit Vancouver, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, represented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui, set out recent and planned measures aimed at integrating traditional finance with digital finance, spanning tokenisation initiatives, sustainability reporting, responsible use of artificial intelligence in finance, and a newly established stablecoin regulatory regime. Key updates included the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s sandbox experimentation under Project Ensemble, described as a new wholesale central bank digital currency project to support the development of Hong Kong’s tokenisation market. The Bureau also highlighted Hong Kong’s fintech footprint of around 1,100 fintech companies and start-ups, including 10 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, eight digital banks and four virtual insurers. On sustainability and governance-related measures, Hong Kong issued a policy statement last October on the responsible application of artificial intelligence in the financial market, and launched a roadmap last December requiring publicly accountable entities to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards Sustainability Disclosure Standards, with large publicly accountable entities expected to fully adopt no later than 2028; the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited has begun phased implementation of new climate disclosure requirements aligned with IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures since January. On digital asset regulation, Hui referenced legislation passed last week establishing a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers, with the Government aiming to fully implement the regime within 2025 and approve the first batch of licences as soon as practicable. Looking ahead, Hong Kong will soon promulgate a second policy statement on virtual asset development, and plans to conduct a consultation within 2025 on licensing regimes for virtual asset over-the-counter trading services and custodian services.
Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (Hong Kong) 2025-05-31
Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau promotes stablecoin licensing rollout and upcoming virtual asset consultations at Web Summit Vancouver
At Web Summit Vancouver, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau outlined measures to integrate traditional and digital finance, including tokenisation and a stablecoin regulatory regime. Key developments include the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Project Ensemble for central bank digital currency and new climate disclosure requirements aligned with IFRS standards. Upcoming plans involve a second policy statement on virtual asset development and consultations on licensing regimes for virtual asset trading and custodian services.