Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has appeared to look up to crypto and other digital assets in numerous instances.
As per a local media report, the Hong Kong government plans to issue tokenized green bonds for institutional investors. In addition, several regional officials have spoken on the upcoming plans related to technology, digital assets, and the economy. As a result, a substantial focus was placed on green bonds.
Chen Maobo, Hong Kong Financial Secretary, said that the government has been working on multiple pilot cryptocurrency-related projects. One of these projects would issue tokenized green bonds that institutional investors could subscribe to. These tokenized bonds can be counted as another step from a region progressing toward decentralized technology.
In addition, Chen Haolin, Deputy Secretary for Financial Affairs and the Treasury, also said that the Securities Regulatory Commission is working on regulating the asset class. It is currently deliberating rules for exchanges and public consultations to inform its decisions.
Recently, the Hong Kong government completed the legislative work for a licensing system, as per Maobo. The licensing system would focus on anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism financing, and investor protection capabilities.
On December 8 last year, Todayq News reported that the legislative council of Hong Kong had approved an amendment to its anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing system that now includes providers of virtual asset services.
With effect starting on June 1, 2023, the latest legislation will create a new licensing system for service providers of virtual assets. The new amendment will regulate crypto exchange service providers by the same laws as conventional financial institutions.
Hong Kong has off-lately been very supportive of decentralization and Web3. For example, on January 5, Wu Jiezhuang, a member of the Legislative Council, opined that turning the Hong Kong digital dollar (e-HKD) into a stablecoin would benefit the adoption of new technologies like Web3.
The crypto regulations have been speedied across several Asian countries. Countries like South Korea and Japan are very keen on encouraging digital asset development and are actively engaged in creating policies.
However, Julia Leung, the next chief executive of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), called for stricter section regulation but did not intend to restrain innovation. Also, the intention towards strict regulation is valid in light of the recent figures. For example, as per a public broadcaster, 69% of all online investment scams are related to crypto.