Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Sunday that digital finance is among the areas Hong Kong can develop in the long run, adding that the government will issue its second policy statement on digital asset development by the end of the month.

Chan said the statement is needed in light of "the latest developments and a change in situations".

The minister said officials will announce the government's vision and policy directions on how they will help combine digital asset innovations with traditional financial services.

Writing on his weekly blog, Chan said the policy statement will also touch on raising the flexibility and safety of digital assets in real economic activities.

He noted that in August, the SAR will implement a licensing regime for stablecoins, which are virtual assets meant to maintain a stable value relative to assets such as actual currencies.

The secretary said many market participants are interested in this and the Monetary Authority will handle licence applications as quickly as possible.

"It is estimated that the total market value of global stablecoins is about US$240 billion, and the global stablecoin trading volume exceeded US$20 trillion last year," Chan said.

"With the booming development of the digital asset market, the market demand for stablecoins is expected to increase further."

Chan went on to say that while the global equity market has faced a lot of uncertainties so far this year, Hong Kong stood out being as the local bourse was robust and rose by around 20 percent.

He said there have been funds from places such as the US, Europe and the Middle East flowing into the Hong Kong market, for initial public offerings as well as refinancing.