Hui Promotes Hong Kong's Fintech Opportunities at Web Summit Vancouver Amid Growing Global Interest

SFST promotes HK's measures for integrating traditional and digital finance at Web Summit Vancouver

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, attended the Web Summit Vancouver on May 30 (Vancouver time) in Vancouver, Canada, and appealed to tech investors and leaders to grasp the vast business opportunities in the vibrant fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong.

The Web Summit, a mega event for the tech sector, attracted over 10 000 tech investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders across the world each time it is hosted. This is the first time the Summit has been held in Vancouver. Mr Hui engaged in a panel discussion session titled "Local to global: Strategies for tech success", which was joined by the Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation of the Province of British Columbia, Canada, Ms Diana Gibson. They had an illuminating discussion on the various approaches taken in building dynamic fintech economies, ranging from developing talent, attracting investment to creating opportunities.

Mr Hui said that as one of the top three international financial centres and a leading international green finance hub, Hong Kong is pioneering the integration of traditional and digital finance with a view to strengthening its position as Asia's gateway for financial innovation. The city is striving to accelerate green and sustainable finance and virtual asset development, with a view to making them key components of the diversified financial value chain. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has already commenced sandbox experimentation of Project Ensemble, which is a new wholesale central bank digital currency project to support the development of the tokenisation market in Hong Kong.

The fintech ecosystem is thriving in Hong Kong, with around 1 100 fintech companies and start-ups, including 10 licensed virtual asset trading platforms, eight digital banks and four virtual insurers. Pledged to continue playing a leading role in facilitating green and sustainable financing and investment for the global agenda of green transition, Hong Kong issued a policy statement last October to set out its policy stance and approach on the responsible application of artificial intelligence in the financial market. The Government also launched a roadmap last December to require publicly accountable entities (PAEs) to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards - Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards) and to provide a well-defined pathway for large PAEs to fully adopt the ISSB Standards no later than 2028. This brings Hong Kong among the first jurisdictions to align its local requirements with ISSB Standards. As an initial step, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited has already started to implement in phases new climate disclosure requirements to reflect the ISSB Standard No. 2: Climate-related Disclosures since this January.

Mr Hui also updated the Summit on the latest passage of legislation last week establishing a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoins issuers in Hong Kong, as a way to further enhance Hong Kong's regulatory framework on virtual asset activities for supporting the healthy, responsible and sustainable development of Hong Kong's stablecoin and the broader digital asset ecosystem. Hong Kong is among the first batch of regions to have introduced stablecoin legislation and strives to fully implement the licensing regime within this year, with a view to approving the first batch of licences as soon as practicable.

Looking forward, Hong Kong will soon promulgate a second policy statement on the development of virtual assets to explore the convergence of traditional finance and virtual assets. A consultation on the licensing regimes for virtual asset over-the-counter trading services and custodian services will also be conducted within this year.

During his stay at the Summit, Mr Hui visited exhibition booths manned by Hong Kong delegates. He was pleased to learn that the Hong Kong delegates received encouraging feedback over the past few days, reflecting the world-class standard of Hong Kong fintech talent and their appeal to investors.

In the afternoon, Mr Hui paid a courtesy call to the Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Vancouver, Mr Yang Shu. Mr Yang said Hong Kong has always been a window of the country to the world and will continue to be. He encouraged Hong Kong to keep up with its work in deepening international exchanges and co-operation.

Before concluding his visit to Canada, Mr Hui visited Bank of Montreal and met with the Senior Vice President & Head, Mid-Market, Commercial Bank, Mr Andrew Hung, and Senior Vice President & Head, BC & Yukon, Mr Greg Vriend. He told them that in a world full of geopolitical uncertainties, Hong Kong's financial market is emerging as a risk-off haven for investors and attracting more investments owing to its connectivity with the Mainland and the world at large, bringing greater prospects for the banking sector and different financial areas.

Mr Hui will return to Hong Kong in the early hours of May 31 (Vancouver time).

SFST promotes HK's measures for integrating traditional and digital finance at Web Summit Vancouver Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SFST promotes HK's measures for integrating traditional and digital finance at Web Summit Vancouver Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SFST promotes HK's measures for integrating traditional and digital finance at Web Summit Vancouver Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SFST promotes HK's measures for integrating traditional and digital finance at Web Summit Vancouver Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SFST promotes HK's measures for integrating traditional and digital finance at Web Summit Vancouver Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

SFST promotes HK's measures for integrating traditional and digital finance at Web Summit Vancouver Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Hospital Authority proactively assists patients and majority of medical fee waiver applications approved on same day

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

Following the implementation of public healthcare fees and charges reform, the Hospital Authority (HA) has enhanced its medical fee waiver mechanism to facilitate applications from patients with financial needs, strengthening protection for underprivileged and elderly patients. The HA spokesperson announced today (January 10) that the HA proactively assists eligible citizens in obtaining medical fee waivers before accessing medical services. The HA currently has processed an average of 5 000 medical fee waiver applications daily. According to approval records, approximately 85 per cent of applications are successfully approved on average, with some hospital clusters reaching nearly 90 per cent, and waivers are issued on the same day. For patients who are unable to provide all required documents at the time of application, "conditional waivers" can be issued within as quickly as 15 minutes, allowing immediate access to fee reduction. This ensures that no patient is denied from medical care due to lack of means.

The HA reported that 54 658 medical fee waiver applications have been approved to date, including 33 759 cases have completed assessment and received formal waiver certificates. Under normal circumstances, waivers will be issued within approximately one hour of submitting all required documents. For patients who require urgent medical services but are unable to provide the necessary documentation for financial assessment, the HA has exercised flexible arrangements. By signing a declaration stating their financial situation meets the medical fee waiver eligibility criteria, patients can receive approval for "conditional waivers" within as fast as 15 minutes. The HA has exercised flexible arrangements to approve 20 899 "conditional waivers". These patients must submit the relevant documents for financial assessment within three months. If patients fail to submit the required documents within the deadline or do not meet the eligibility criteria, they will be required to settle all applicable fees (if any).

"Patients should allow sufficient time for medical fee waiver applications. For patients without immediate medical needs, it is advisable to begin the application process approximately one to two months before their scheduled appointments. Members of the public can also access information about medical fee waivers, including application procedures and required documents, in advance through the HA website or mobile application HA Go. They can also use the means test calculator to preliminarily evaluate their eligibility, ensuring a smoother application process," the HA spokesperson reminded.

The spokesperson emphasised that the enhanced medical fee waiver mechanism is a crucial measure of the public healthcare fees and charges reform to strengthen protection for patients facing financial hardship, and therefore requires financial assessment and not everyone will be eligible. Each application must be handled with due diligence for the use of public money. Patients have the responsibility to provide complete, accurate, truthful, and appropriate information for assessment and verification, ensuring that assistance reaches those truly in need.

While ensuring that no patient is denied from medical care due to lack of means, it is also essential to uphold the principle of prudent use of resources to prevent the limited and precious public resources being abused. Moreover, the supporting documents required for medical fee waiver applications are similar to those required for other social welfare or government subsidy schemes.

Patients need to submit income and asset proof documents for financial assessment while applying for medical fee waivers. In addition to common documentary proof such as land or non-owner-occupied property, cash in hand, bank savings, investments in stocks and shares, some applicants may keep cash in other accounts such as e-wallets, Hong Kong Jockey Club betting accounts, or have accessible insurance savings. Patients are also required to provide relevant supporting documents for these assets to accurately assess their eligibility for medical fee waivers. To ensure appropriate use of medical resources and prevent abuse, the HA will conduct regular reviews of approved cases randomly.

The HA has relaxed eligibility criteria and simplified the application procedures with the implementation of enhanced medical fee waiver mechanism. Patients or their family members who are currently receiving Old Age Living Allowance may be exempted from submitting certain documentary proof for financial assessment, with details as follows:

For a two-member family where both members receive Old Age Living Allowance, the patient only needs to provide proof of receiving the allowance (such as bank statements) and will be exempted from submitting income and asset proof;

For a two-member family where one member receives Old Age Living Allowance, provision of income proof will be exempted; and

For a one-member family where the applicant receives Old Age Living Allowance, provision of asset proof will be exempted.

Furthermore, if a patient has household members included in the financial assessment who already possess approved medical fee waiver, the patient will not need to undergo a complete financial assessment. The HA will refer to the financial information submitted during their household member's medical fee waiver application and, depending on the actual circumstances, will only request necessary or missing information from the patient rather than conducting a full review from scratch. The patient will receive a waiver with the same validity period as their household member.

The HA is gradually enhancing its electronic system "Medical Fee Assistance Domain" (the domain) to support medical fee waiver applications. Patients can now upload required documents for financial assessment through the domain, receive push notifications about key application status, and check application details. Starting from the second quarter of 2026, patients will also be able to submit applications through the domain.

Source: AI-found images