The Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau published details of the three major initiatives to foster the co-development of fintech and real economy announced at FinTech Week's main conference on November 2 for better understanding by all stakeholders.
Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui announced the initiatives, including launching a new Integrated Fund Platform (IFP), welcoming cross-boundary e-CNY applications and promoting real economy-related applications and innovations by the Virtual Assets (VA) and Web3.0 sector last week.
The first phase of the IFP, which will be developed and operated by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, is expected to launch by the end of 2024. It is proposed to cover the front-to-back distribution life cycle and value chain for distribution of retail funds in Hong Kong, and will serve as an integrated platform, thus strengthening Hong Kong's position as an international asset and wealth management centre.
On welcoming cross-boundary e-CNY applications, the bureau was pleased to note that Octopus Cards Limited and Bank of China (Hong Kong) will seek to explore new e-CNY application scenarios, with a view to benefitting both inbound Mainland visitors to Hong Kong and outbound Hong Kong residents visiting the Mainland.
It noted that the applications represent cross-boundary financial innovations, connecting the e-CNY ecosystem with the payment vehicle and banking payment system in Hong Kong, adding that these innovations focus on retail payments, facilitating cross-boundary consumption and the interconnectivity within the Greater Bay Area, which will pave the way for exploring more future application scenarios and use cases of e-CNY in the bay area.
As for facilitating innovations by the VA and Web3.0 sector, the Government will seek to promote real economy-related applications and innovations by the sector, such as tokenisation of Real World Assets and traditional financial assets, and further development of the regulatory framework for VA-related activities.
Hui said he is glad to learn that the initiatives are well supported.
"Looking ahead, the Government will join hands with regulators and major market players to press ahead with the initiatives, with a view to injecting new energy to our ever-growing fintech ecosystem," he added.
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