Hong Kong will be a great place for crypto, fintech, and other startups to set up shop in the new year, according to the city’s financial secretary on Monday, looking past the industry’s current upheaval.
According to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po, the government of Hong Kong will issue tokenised green bonds for institutional investors while also developing aspects of a regulatory framework.
Speaking at a Web3 forum in Cyberport, Chan Mo-Po stated that Hong Kong is still committed to becoming a regional crypto hub and will work to attract new businesses from around the world.
Hong Kong is eager to tout its crypto credentials at a time when rival Singapore is retreating, alarmed by the fallout from the FTX derailment. Following the city’s policy statement, Chan said that several leading tech firms and startups are now considering relocating or expanding to Hong Kong.
“As certain crypto exchanges collapsed one after another, Hong Kong became a quality standing point for digital asset corporates,” said Chan. He added that the city has a strong regulatory framework that “matches international norms and standards” while prohibiting free riders.
According to Chan Mo-Po, the Hong Kong government recently completed legislative work for a licencing system. This system would prioritise AML, anti-terrorist financing, and investor protection. Perhaps most importantly, the government is establishing web3 supervision, as it has previously stated.
Chan stated that with the anticipated growth of virtual asset exchanges in the near future, Hong Kong has become a base for high-quality virtual asset companies to establish a presence. He noted that the government and regulatory agencies are conducting various pilot projects to evaluate virtual assets’ technical capabilities and examine their possible uses.
He also revealed that the green bonds being issued by the government would be tokenised and made available for subscription by institutional investors.
The Securities Regulatory Commission is also working on regulating the asset class, according to Chen Haolian, Deputy Secretary for Financial Affairs and the Treasury. It is currently deliberating rules for exchanges and public consultations in order to inform its decisions.
