Government welcomes passage of Stablecoins Bill
The Government welcomed the passage of the Stablecoins Bill by the Legislative Council today (May 21) to establish a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoins (FRS) issuers in Hong Kong, to further enhance Hong Kong's regulatory framework on virtual-asset (VA) activities, thereby fostering financial stability and encouraging financial innovation.
Upon implementation of the Stablecoins Ordinance, any person who, in the course of business, issues an FRS in Hong Kong, or issues an FRS that purports to maintain a stable value with reference to Hong Kong dollars in or outside Hong Kong will need to obtain a licence from the Monetary Authority (MA). The relevant persons must satisfy the requirements in areas such as reserve asset management and redemption, including proper segregation of client assets, maintaining a robust stabilisation mechanism, and processing stablecoin holders' requests for redemption at par value with reasonable conditions. The relevant persons must also comply with a range of requirements, including those on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing, risk management, disclosure and auditing, and fitness and propriety. The MA will conduct further consultations on the detailed regulatory requirements of the regime in due course.
The regulatory regime will provide better protection for the general public and investors. Among others, under the Ordinance, only specified licensed institutions may offer an FRS in Hong Kong, and only an FRS issued by a licensed issuer may be offered to a retail investor. Additionally, to prevent fraud and scams, at all times (including the six-month non-contravention period), only advertisements of licensed FRS issuance are allowed. Members of the public are advised to take note of the above and exercise care when receiving FRS-related advertising materials or messages.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, "The Ordinance adheres to the 'same activity, same risks, same regulation' principle, with a focus on a risk-based approach to promote a robust regulatory environment. This is not only in line with international regulatory requirements, but also lays a solid foundation for Hong Kong's virtual asset market, which, in turn, promotes the sustainable development of the industry, protects users' rights and interests, and strengthens Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre."
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Mr Eddie Yue, said, "The Ordinance has established a risk-based, pragmatic, and flexible regulatory regime. We believe that a robust and fit-for-purpose regulatory environment would provide favourable conditions to support the healthy, responsible, and sustainable development of Hong Kong's stablecoin and the broader digital asset ecosystem."
The Ordinance is expected to come into effect this year, to allow sufficient time for the industry to understand the requirements under the licensing regime. The regime also provides for a transitional arrangement to facilitate the industry in applying for a licence and making suitable business arrangements in accordance with the regulatory regime.
The Government will continue to support the development of the VA sector. Following the implementation of the VA trading platform and stablecoins issuers regulatory regimes, the Government will soon launch consultations on VA over-the-counter and custodian services, and promulgate the second policy statement on the development of VAs.
Government announces updates on follow-up work on Tai Po fire
The Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po convened the first meeting today (December 19). The Committee has formally commenced work.
Moreover, the three task forces set up by the Government for the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po - the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements - are making full efforts to follow up on the support, relief, and investigation work related to the incident. Details are as follows:
Financial and welfare support
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For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, established by the Government, donations received are about $3.5 billion as of noon today. With the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has now reached around $3.8 billion. The fund will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support.
The Government earlier announced that a living allowance from the Support Fund will be provided to each affected household, and the amount has been increased from $50,000 to $100,000. As of today, 1 929 cases have been processed. In addition, the Government will provide families of each deceased victim with a token of solidarity of $200,000, as well as $50,000 to cover funeral costs. As of today, a total of 144 cases have been processed. The allowance will be disbursed in phases.
Social workers from the Social Welfare Department (SWD) have been in contact with more than 1 980 affected households, providing the "one social worker per household" follow-up service to more than 4 900 residents. The SWD will maintain liaison with the affected households to provide all necessary assistance while fully supporting the relief work of the Government.
Accommodation support
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Currently, there is still a supply of more than 1 000 units that can provide affected residents with longer-term accommodation. The transitional housing and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) projects in different districts can altogether provide around 400 units at the moment. Moreover, Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun and Runway 1331 at Kai Tak can provide a supply of around 900 units.
As of this morning, a total of 613 residents are staying in hotel rooms through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, and 552 residents are staying in youth hostels/camps. Another 3 503 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau, units from the HKHS or Po Tin Interim Housing in Tuen Mun.
The Transport Department (TD) has been steering public transport operators (PTOs) to enhance services of franchised buses, green minibuses and residents' services by deploying additional vehicles and manpower to support residents affected by the fire who have been admitted into transitional housing in various districts, facilitating transfers to other services to and from different districts. Among them, an additional shuttle bus service will be launched connecting Lok Sin Village in Tai Po and Tai Po Market Station; while KMB will extend the service hours of 75K. The TD will closely co-ordinate with operating organisations of transitional housing projects concerned and PTOs to cater for residents' commuting needs.
Relief supplies and donations
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Thesupplies donation online platform, established by the Government and the information technology sector, continues to operate, facilitating the registration of supplies donations from organisations and the public. The Government has so far received around 2 000 registrations, of which approximately 30 per cent were submitted by organisations, whereas the others were contributed by the public. The various registered donation items include food and beverages, clothing, daily necessities, bedding, and electrical appliances. The Government is actively assessing residents' actual needs through the relevant policy bureau, government departments, and service organisations for the matching of donated supplies in order to distribute appropriate items in phases to places in need. So far, over 29 000 donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places. The matching and distribution of supplies will continue.
Regulation and inspection work
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The Buildings Department (BD) today issued a practice note (available in Chinese only) to registered contractors, setting out a new mechanism for sampling scaffold nets in Hong Kong announced last week. The new mechanism applies to scaffold nets used in repair projects, as well as to those used in new building works.
To facilitate the implementation of the new mechanism, the BD announced on its website the first batch of designated laboratories and will continuously update the list. Furthermore, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) is preparing for collective bulk procurement and coordinating testing services. The Hong Kong Institute of Construction San Tin Training Ground has been selected as the site for the industry to arrange off-site sampling. The Government and the CIC will work towards having the first batch of scaffold nets reinstalled within a month after procurement and testing.
Others
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The Government today invoked Section 31 of the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) and submitted an application to the Lands Tribunal for the dissolution of the existing management committee of the owners' corporation (OC) of Wang Fuk Court. It has also proposed appointing Hop On Management Company Limited (Hop On) under the Chinachem Group as the designated administrator to assist the owners of Wang Fuk Court in handling various management and follow-up matters after the fire. If the Lands Tribunal approves the application, the Home Affairs Department will establish a dedicated team to work closely with Hop On in closely following up on various aspects of building management. This includes handling works contract, following up on insurance claims, financial management, and offering support to residents, etc. Hop On has explicitly stated that it will operate on a pro bono basis for this appointment. At the same time, Nina Wang Charity Management Limited has also expressed that if the Lands Tribunal approves the application, it will donate $5 million to the OC to cover the costs associated with employing lawyers, accountants, or other professional services.
Source: AI-found images
