There's growing interest for jurisdictions to conduct trade in their own currency, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Wednesday, adding that a multi-central bank digital currency platform is "worth pushing forward".

At the annual Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia, Chan said Hong Kong has been involved in the mBridge project, a platform supporting cross-border payments and foreign exchange transactions using central bank digital currencies and distributed ledger technology.

"A lot of jurisdictions want to trade in their own currency. So the challenge is how to create a system to take care of that," Chan said in Riyadh.

"Say, for example, Hong Kong, along with Saudi Arabia and a few other jurisdictions, we have an mBridge project facilitating trade settlements. I mean trading transactions denominated in their own local currency. And through digitalisation this can be settled by using their own currency. And this is gaining increasing confidence and increasing interest."

During the summit, Chan witnessed the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement between Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks and Beta Lab, a startup incubator in Saudi Arabia.

The financial chief is leading a 100-strong delegation to the Saudi capital for three days, after taking the first direct passenger flight between the SAR and Riyadh since 2017.

"We're meeting with business, finance and technology companies, with investors and government leaders, too. Our goal is clear: To expand ties with Saudi Arabia, building friendship and exploring the many mutually beneficial collaboration opportunities this renewed connection will surely create," Chan told a cocktail reception.

He also said the resumption of flights between the two cities "underlines the strategic importance" of Saudi Arabia's location "at the crossroad between three continents", while boosting ties between Beijing and Riyadh.