Topic
Stories about how technology is used to enhance financial services, covering banking and securities
De facto central bank aims for first-mover advantage through blockchain technology, providing welcome lift to Hong Kong’s image as global financial centre
As the number of cryptocurrency victims grows, Hong Kong authorities need to react faster to the latest get-rich schemes and close loopholes to protect investors.
Beijing is ready to call it a day after a two-year crackdown on ‘new economy’ businesses, and the industry can expect support from now on.
Exposure to collapsed cryptocurrency exchange is limited in Hong Kong, where it was founded, thanks to the regulations it described as ‘hostile’ and outdated.
AI firm Bilby, says it can generate insights about what governments may intend to do – predicting regulatory changes ahead of the event.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions, most of the top 30 investors that invested in Chinese unicorns are based within the country.
ByteDance’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 60 per cent last year to more than US$40 billion, while sales grew by about 50 per cent to US$120 billion, people familiar said.
Vitalik Buterin made a rare last-minute appearance at Hong Kong’s biggest Web3 event for a 20 minute technical talk on blockchain tech.
Hong Kong has entered the next phase of its digital-assets development, which is to achieve benchmark liquidity in the primary and secondary markets, according to HSBC’s global head of digital assets strategy.
Bindo Labs subsidiary Wonder will try to kick-start adoption by giving taxi drivers the required equipment – worth HK$8,600 (US$1,098) – for the next six months.
Hong Kong’s biggest licensed cryptocurrency exchange operator has launched a global trading platform, but it is not available in the US or China.
Mobile payments made through 16 wallets supported by Alipay+ now account for 10 per cent of total tourist spending in Japan, unit president Douglas Feagin says.
HSBC Gold Token, which will be available on the lender’s online banking and mobile app, is the first such retail product to be issued by a bank, according to HSBC, as the government pushes for more digital assets to be rolled out for public use.
SMEs’ understanding of and readiness to employ new tech lags behind their belief that it will confer benefits, survey finds.
City’s biggest bank and start-up hub aim to build ‘international fintech corridor’ to further Hong Kong’s goal of being an international hub for such technology.
After cutting costs by about 20 per cent throughout 2023, Hex Trust sees the cryptocurrency market’s revival ‘directly translating into profitability’ for the company.
Mainland cryptocurrency investors made US$1.15 billion in 2023 to rank fourth behind those in the US, the UK and Vietnam, according to a Chainalysis survey.
The Securities and Futures Commission has warned investors about trading on Bybit, which is under scrutiny for offering suspicious virtual-asset products in Hong Kong.
The HKMA’s new wholesale central bank digital currency project aims to enhance interbank settlements for tokenised money. A planned sandbox will test settlement of tokenised real-world assets.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched the second phase of a pilot programme to explore ‘innovative’ uses for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for public use, five months after it unveiled the results of the first trial run.
China’s Generation Z is already expressing preferences in consumption and tourism that diverge from their older predecessors, with a predilection for digital shopping and experiences over commodities.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched a plan to trial stablecoins, announced in December, for companies with a ‘genuine interest’ in fiat-backed crypto.
Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay are enhancing operations to make it easier for foreign travellers to pay for goods and services on the mainland, the world’s largest cashless society.
‘We’ve always been at the cutting edge of the whole blockchain evolution, including CBDCs,’ Yue, CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, tells the Post.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is testing an ecosystem that includes digital forms of deposits, blockchain-based financial products and central bank money for settlement purposes.
Blockchain is shaking up the financial sector and, given the popularity of bitcoin exchange-traded funds, regulators will need to step up their game when it comes to consumer protection and oversight, says the president and chief executive of fund manager Franklin Templeton.
Wild fluctuations in bitcoin’s value remain the norm, and cryptocurrencies have yet to enter the mainstream, an Economic Daily article says.
The SFC saw a jump in last-minute applications, but the number of applicants so far falls far short of the 70 that Singapore saw after a similar regulation.
The increased interest in bitcoin reflects how a community of cryptocurrency enthusiasts on the mainland continues to thrive, despite a sweeping government ban.
Companies should focus on increasing their integration with multiple sectors to enhance their ability to serve the real economy, industry experts said at a summit.
Futu accelerates its international market expansion to seek new growth with its Malaysian foray on the heels of its Singapore expansion, as China tightens regulations on mainland investors’ overseas securities trading to curb capital outflow.
The government will submit a bill on licensing rules for stablecoin issuers and OTC trading services to the legislature ‘as soon as practicable’, says the city’s financial affairs chief.