Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui says an updated government policy statement on the development of digital assets is designed to engender greater trust in such products, and encourage more participation.

Authorities on Thursday issued the Policy Statement 2.0 on the Development of Digital Assets in Hong Kong, setting out the government’s vision of building a safe and innovative digital asset ecosystem that brings concrete solutions to both the real economy and financial markets.

Hui told a TVB programme on Sunday that the update builds upon the foundational measures established in the initial policy statement released in October 2022.

"Looking at many foreign markets, sometimes there is regulation but no market, which is something we hope to avoid through our comprehensive efforts," he said.

Hui said the latest policy introduces the ‘Leap’ framework – covering legal compliance, expanding tokenised product suites, advancing use cases and collaboration, as well as people and partnership development.

He said both the public and private sectors have a role to play in coming up with new products.

"The government took the lead in issuing around HK$6 billion to HK$7 billion in tokenised bonds, which we will be regularising.

"On the market side, we are of course hoping for a greater variety of products. For instance, we mentioned in our statement that we would waive stamp duties for transactions involving tokenised exchange-traded funds."

Hui also noted that, to dovetail with the updated statement, Cyberport has launched a new funding scheme for blockchain and digital assets that offers up to HK$500,000 in subsidies for start-ups running innovative pilot projects.

The minister also spoke about the implementation of a new licensing regime for stablecoins – a virtual asset – in August.

Hui said stablecoins should be seen as a tool for financial development, and not a vehicle for making money.

"In our daily financial market operations, transactions typically occur through various intermediaries or institutions for payments and capital flows," he noted.

"The operation of blockchain and stablecoins can significantly enhance the efficiency and the speed of these transactions, and in turn make related economic activities in the real economy more efficient.

"I believe that finance exists not for its own sake but to serve the real economy."

Hui added that the development of digital assets is an inevitable trend and Hong Kong must be well prepared in order to maintain its position as an international financial centre.