Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Financial Secretary Paul Chan fulfilled various engagements on day two of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland yesterday, as he promoted Hong Kong’s advantages and opportunities.
In the morning, Mr Chan attended a Special Address delivered by State Council Vice Premier He Lifeng.
Mr Chan also attended a breakfast meeting hosted by digital asset company Animoca Brands, where he engaged in discussions with leaders from the financial and innovation sectors on how blockchain applications, including tokenised assets and genomic data analytics, are driving transformation and development in capital markets.
The finance chief said that, as an international financial centre, Hong Kong has adopted a proactive yet prudent approach to the development of digital assets and follows the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation” to promote responsible and sustainable market development.
Explaining that a licensing regime for stablecoins is expected to be launched later this year, he highlighted the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s leadership role in promoting tokenisation, including the issuance of three batches of tokenised green bonds amounting to around US$2.1 billion. In addition, he said, regulatory sandboxes have been introduced to encourage the development of innovative applications.
Later in the day, Mr Chan met a number of officials from different economies and regional organisations to exchange views on the global political and economic landscape, ways of strengthening collaboration on trade, finance, industrial development and digital transformation, and other issues of mutual concern.
These officials included Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Egypt’s Minister of Investment & Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib; and Switzerland’s State Secretary for International Finance at the Federal Department of Finance Daniela Stoffel.
In addition, Mr Chan met World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to exchange views on the current and future international trade landscape.
His engagements for the day also included a meeting with Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of technology investment firm Vista Equity Partners Robert Smith.
At the meeting, Mr Chan learnt about developments in the firm’s software and data businesses, and encouraged Mr Smith to consider expanding the company’s presence in Hong Kong.