PANews reported on December 11 that according to Oriental Daily, Hong Kong's Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chan Ho-lim, met with about 10 Web 3 and artificial intelligence (AI) industry representatives on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments in Web 3 and AI, and shared the opportunities and challenges for the development of the financial services industry. Chan Ho-lim pointed out that Hong Kong currently has nearly 300 Web3-related companies and 3 virtual asset trading platforms licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and it is estimated that more virtual asset trading platforms will obtain licenses this year.
He mentioned that in order to promote the development of the virtual asset industry, the Treasury Bureau will submit a draft bill to the Legislative Council this year to regulate the issuers of legal currency stablecoins to address the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, protect investors, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the market. In addition, next year, a second round of public consultation will be conducted on the regulation of virtual asset over-the-counter transactions and a proposed licensing system for virtual asset custody service providers will be proposed.
