Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank Negara Malaysia Strengthen Bilateral Collaboration in Fintech and Financial Market Development

Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank Negara Malaysia strengthen bilateral co-operation

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) held a high-level bilateral meeting in Hong Kong on October 2. The two central banking institutions exchanged information and experiences and had comprehensive discussion covering macroeconomic and financial development; emerging banking regulatory issues; fintech and payment transformation; and strategies for advancing capital market connectivity, local currency usage and Islamic finance.

The two institutions agreed to strengthen bilateral collaborations in the following areas:

Fintech and digital asset innovation

• Establish a joint policy-focused workstream to promote compliant cross-border stablecoin use cases between Hong Kong and Malaysia.

• Enhance collaboration on tokenisation and digital money, including through policy and regulatory exchange between both jurisdictions.

• Explore opportunities for collaboration and facilitate knowledge sharing on data-driven applications, including Commercial Data Interchange and CargoX, to expand trade finance access for small and medium enterprisesin both economies.

Cross-border regulatory collaboration

• Establish mechanisms to strengthen cross-border cyber resilience, as well as anti-scam and anti-fraud efforts.

Local currency usage and infrastructure linkages

• Jointly promote the broader adoption of local currencies in bilateral trade and investment.

• Enhance connectivity between the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems in Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Capital market connectivity

• Explore central securities depository (CSD) linkage between Hong Kong's Central Moneymarkets Unitand the Real time Electronic Transfer of Funds and Securities System (RENTAS), Malaysia's multi-currency RTGS and CSD.

• Enhance collaboration to advance Islamic finance market development and connectivity through supporting industry engagement, talent development, sustainable finance and cross-border investment.

The Chief Executive of the HKMA , Mr Eddie Yue,said, "We are delighted to welcome the BNM delegation to Hong Kong. This high-level meeting marks an important milestone in deepening collaboration between our two institutions to support financial market development and economic growth. Based on our shared vision, we look forward to advancing co-operation in fintech and digital asset innovation, improving the efficiency of cross-border local currency transactions, strengthening market connectivity, and fostering the growth of the Islamic finance market."

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) held a high-level bilateral meeting in Hong Kong on October 2. Photo shows the Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue (front row, fourth left), the Governor of the BNM, Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour (front row, fourth right) and delegates from both sides at the meeting. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) held a high-level bilateral meeting in Hong Kong on October 2. The Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Eddie Yue (left), and the Governor of the BNM, Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour (right), chaired the bilateral meeting. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Public rental housing residents imprisoned for falsely declaring no property ownership

A spokesman for the Housing Department (HD) said today (October 6) that two public rental housing (PRH) residents in two cases were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for contravening the Housing Ordinance by falsely declaring in a statement that they did not own any property.

The Housing Department, Photo by Bastille Post

The PRH residents involved, living in Choi Hung Estate and Kwong Tin Estate respectively, declared in the 2025 Income and Assets Declaration Forms that they did not own any domestic property in Hong Kong. Upon thorough investigations by the HD, it was revealed that the two PRH tenants, in Case 1, each owned residential properties in Sai Kung, with one holding two properties and the other holding one, while one PRH resident in Case 2 owned a domestic property in Tseung Kwan O.

The Kwun Tong Magistrates Courts, the Kwun Tong Law Courts Building

The Kwun Tong Magistrates Courts yesterday (October 5) sentenced the PRH resident holding two properties in Case 1 to an immediate two-week imprisonment, while the hearing for the other PRH resident in the same case was adjourned to November 30. The HD will also proceed to recover the subject PRH flat. For Case 2, the PRH resident was sentenced to a four-week imprisonment and granted bail pending appeal.

The HD reminded that, PRH residents and subsidised housing applicants must honestly declare their income, assets, and properties, and accurately complete their Income and Assets Declaration Forms. PRH residents must also read the content and completion guidelines of the Declaration Forms carefully and compute their income and assets in accordance with the methods specified for accurately providing the relevant information.

The HD will continue its dedicated efforts to adopt a multipronged approach to combat the abuse of PRH in a comprehensive manner.

Source: AI-found images