Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui attended the Innovate Finance Global Summit 2023 in London on April 17 during his visit to the UK.

The goal of the two-day summit, with Invest Hong Kong as one of the major support institutions this year, is to welcome about 2,000 attendees from the financial services and fintech ecosystem from around the world to look into crucial issues facing the sector.

At the fireside chat titled “The Rise of IFC 3.0 through Virtual Assets & Web3 - the Roadmap of Hong Kong”, Mr Hui pointed out that Hong Kong has always been open and inclusive towards the global community of innovators engaging in virtual assets (VA) businesses.

He stressed that the policy statement on VA development issued last October could provide a facilitating environment for promoting the sustainable and responsible development of the VA sector.

Mr Hui also told the audience about Hong Kong’s latest legislative work to establish a licensing regime for VA service providers, under which licensed exchanges must comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements as well as the regulatory requirements on investor protection.

To facilitate industries and enterprises’ understanding of the cutting-edge developments and promote cross-sector business collaboration in Web3, the 2023-24 Budget has earmarked $50 million for organising major international conferences and events, he noted.

Separately, at a meeting with Z/Yen Group Chairman Prof Michael Mainelli and Chief Executive Officer Mike Wardle, Mr Hui welcomed the continued recognition from the group for Hong Kong’s advantages as a leading global financial centre in the Global Financial Centres Index Reports over the years, adding that Hong Kong will keep on listening to views and take forward reforms to strengthen its capital market.

Furthermore, when meeting Man Group Chief Executive Officer Luke Ellis, Mr Hui shared that Hong Kong, as the only place where the China and global advantages converge, is the Mainland’s gateway to the world’s financial markets and investors.