Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Highlights AI and Digital Finance Innovation at International Financial Week

Speech by Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) at International Financial Week: Development & Innovation of AI & Digital Finance

Following is the speech by the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services), Ms Salina Yan, at the International Financial Week: Development & Innovation of AI & Digital Finance today (January 26):

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It's my great pleasure to join you all at this afternoon's parallel event of the Asian Financial Forum.

Financial stability and financial development are two sides of a coin, particularly in the digital age. Today's event on "Development and Innovation of AI & Digital Finance", organised by the Alliance for Financial Stability with Information Technology and the Hong Kong Institution for Infrastructural Finance, is most timely. Innovation drives our future, while a robust regulatory and security regime contributes to enduring progress.

Thanks to the continuous market reforms in Hong Kong that benchmark global competitiveness, and our unique connection to the Chinese Mainland market made possible by the successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle, Hong Kong as a premier international financial centre now ranks third globally and first in Asia-Pacific in the Global Financial Centres Index. Among the specific areas, Hong Kong's ranking in fintech has leapt to first in the world. Last year, funds raised through IPOs reached $285.8 billion, an increase of 225 per cent over that of 2024, and we regained our number one ranking for IPOs funds raised in 2025. The average daily turnover was near $250 billion, an impressive increase of 90 per cent over 2024. All these testify to the resilience of the Hong Kong financial market against all odds.

In growing further the liquidity and breadth of our capital markets, Hong Kong stands ready to harness the potential brought about by technology advancement and innovations. In the financial services area, the Hong Kong SAR Government has issued three rounds of tokenised government green bonds for sustainable development over the past three years, proving with success the digitally native form of multi-currency green bonds and utilisation of central bank e-money and, in this case, e-CNY and e-HKD, in the settlement process. We have introduced legislation that allows the licensing of virtual assets trading exchanges. There are now 11 of these exchanges operating in Hong Kong, and there are more in the application process. At the moment, we are formulating legislation for the licensing regimes for the dealing and custodian services of virtual assets, after doing in-depth public consultation. Last year, as you may be aware, we also introduced and enacted the Stablecoin Ordinance that establishes a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers.

One fundamental principle that applies in these innovative initiatives is "same activity, same risk, same regulation", with clear and transparent rules on capital requirements, fit and properness for management personnel, and the segregation treatment of client and firm money. The aim is to enable the healthy and responsible development of the digital asset sector, with solid regulation and a robust ecosystem. The Policy Statement on the Responsible Application of AI in the Financial Market that the HKSAR Government issued in October 2024 carries the same spirit. In the same vein, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched two cohorts of the Generative AI Sandbox in August 2024 and April last year, providing a risk-managed framework for banks to test AI-use cases in a responsible manner.

Again, financial stability is at the core of financial market development and innovation. With the impressive list of speakers today, I am sure we shall all benefit from their insights and wisdom. I wish the event every success and, with a warm welcome, I wish guests travelling from afar will have a good time in Hong Kong. Enjoy our vibrant city. Thank you.

The International Financial Week: Development & Innovation of AI & Digital Finance Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Speech by Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) at International Financial Week: Development & Innovation of AI & Digital Finance Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

CE meets Prime Minister of Vanuatu

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Mr Jotham Napat, today (January 27) to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. The Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, also attended the meeting.

Mr Lee welcomed Mr Napat and his delegation to Hong Kong. Noting that bilateral trade between Hong Kong and Vanuatu continues to grow, Mr Lee said that the prospects for co-operation between the two places are broad and promising. Hong Kong enjoys the dual advantage of having national and global opportunities under the "one country, two systems" principle, and actively gives full play to the roles of a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to deepen international exchanges and co-operation to further explore the Belt and Road and the Global South countries, including Vanuatu, to accelerate the pursuit of new growth opportunities.

Mr Lee said that Hong Kong will further leverage its advantages of connecting with both the Mainland and the world and its role as a functional platform for the Belt and Road Initiative, and will further strengthen economic and trade collaborations with Belt and Road economies and promote participation in green co-operation. Hong Kong and Vanuatu will together seize the opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative. Hong Kong is the world's freest economy. Mr Lee welcomed enterprises from Vanuatu to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages, such as its highly internationalised business environment and its pool of professional services talent, to explore overseas and Mainland markets, to further strengthen co-operation and exchanges across different areas between the two places, and to jointly explore more opportunities.

CE meets Prime Minister of Vanuatu Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases