Judiciary expresses sorrow over passing of Gummow NPJ
The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Judiciary today (September 17) expressed deep sadness over the passing of the Honourable Mr Justice William Montague Charles Gummow, Non-Permanent Judge (NPJ) of the Court of Final Appeal (CFA).
Mr Justice Gummow was appointed as an NPJ of the CFA of Hong Kong in 2013. He had sat on the CFA on many occasions, most recently in May 2026. He had also authored important judgments that have greatly enriched our jurisprudence.
Born in Australia in 1942, Mr Justice Gummow earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Sydney. After 10 years in practice as a solicitor, he was called to the New South Wales Bar in 1976 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1986.
Mr Justice Gummow was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia in 1986, followed by service as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1995 to 2012. In recognition of his distinguished service, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1997.
Mr Justice William Montague Charles Gummow, Non-Permanent Judge (NPJ) of the Court of Final Appeal (CFA)
The Judiciary extends its deepest sympathies to his family.
Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (November 2) co-organised the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026 with Invest Hong Kong. The 11th edition of this flagship fintech event has brought together participants worldwide to exchange insights, showcase innovation, and foster strategic business partnerships.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Photo source: reference image
Following the announcement of "Fintech 2030" last year, the HKMA has built significant momentum in advancing the four strategic pillars under the "DART" framework (Data and Payment, AI, Resilience and Tokenisation). During FinTech Week, the HKMA announced new initiatives across the following four categories, aiming to further strengthen Hong Kong's fintech capabilities and deliver direct benefits to corporations and individuals:
(1) Application and governance of Agentic Finance: As Agentic A.I. technologies continue to mature, they have the potential to reshape how financial services are delivered and used. To ensure responsible development of these services, the HKMA launched Project SAGE (Securing Agentic Finance with Governance and Enablement). The Project will seek to enable the industry to explore and advance agentic finance applications, while ensuring a commensurate governance framework. To support the work of Project SAGE, the HKMA has established a cross-sectoral Agentic Finance Expert Group. Concurrently, the HKMA published a discussion paper on the use of Agentic A.I. by banks, seeking industry feedback on the supervisory considerations pertaining to the governance of such applications.
(2) Driving readiness for post-quantum cryptography (PQC): Quantum computing could in future compromise widely used encryption that protects customer data and transactions. To support the banking sector's transition to PQC in the quantum era, the HKMA and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, with support from industry participants, launched the PQC Toolkit. The Toolkit sets out a structured and comprehensive framework with a suite of practical tools to guide banks through their PQC transition journeys. The Toolkit will continue to evolve through industry application, validation and feedback as PQC standards and implementation practices mature.
(3) Accelerating 24x7 settlement of tokenised transactions under Project Ensemble: The HKMA has advanced EnsembleTX to a new stage, enabling 24x7 real-value transactions. This enhancement empowers banks and their clients to unlock new business opportunities, such as dynamic global allocation of funds, effective management of tokenised asset portfolios, and optimised treasury management. The HKMA has also completed trial trades involving Recognised Dealers conducting secondary market transactions of tokenised Exchange Fund Bills, enabling them to enhance efficiency in secondary and repo trading. The HKMA will soon expand the trials to include regulated stablecoins.
Cyberport. Photo source: reference image
In partnership with Cyberport, the HKMA launched tConnect Launchpad to bring together financial institutions, technology firms, and digital asset innovators. This initiative will explore and validate pioneering use cases,accelerating tokenisation adoption in Hong Kong.
(4) Expanding cross-border payment connectivity: The Faster Payment System (FPS) will link with UnionPay International (UPI) by the end of this year, progressively enabling users to pay by scanning QR codes at over 100 million merchants under UnionPay and its partner networks in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and more than 40 overseas markets, for greater convenience in retail payments both locally and while travelling.
The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue,said, "Hong Kong is well placed to capitalise on new growth opportunities in fintech. Building on the good progress that we have made under 'Fintech 2030', banks and fintech firms can better harness data, AI, tokenisation and other emerging technologies. Looking ahead, we will continue to foster an enabling environment that advances responsible innovation, enhances resilience, and supports the sustainable development of the fintech ecosystem."
The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue. Photo source: reference image
