Wu told the Hong Kong Trade Development Council: Hong Kong has natural advantages in developing Web3 and Crypto Assets.

Hong Kong has always been very supportive of the Web3 field.

Interviewee | Mr. Liang Hanjing, Global President of Financial Services and Technology, Sustainable Development of Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency

Author: Wu on Blockchain

Mr. Liang Hanjing leads the Financial Services and Technology, Sustainable Development team of the Invest Hong Kong to attract international and Mainland financial services and technology, sustainable development companies to Hong Kong to help enrich the financial ecosystem. Prior to joining the government, Mr. Liang Hanjing was a technology company founder, angel investor, and fintech lecturer. Mr. Liang Hanjing’s first data-related startup was established through an early investment by Credit Suisse, a Swiss Credit Group. His company directly serves many well-known financial institutions, including wealth management, insurance, consumer finance, etc. Mr. Liang Hanjing has also served as a corporate management consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton and KPMG in the United States, as well as an investor in the technology fund Innovate@ jointly operated by Booz Allen & Hamilton and Lehman Brothers. Mr. Liang Hanjing holds a Master’s degree in Finance and Strategic Business Administration from the University of Chicago (with honors) and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (with honors).

Question: What work is the Invest Hong Kong currently responsible for in the web3 field

Answer: First, attract investment. Our core responsibility is to attract and support companies to enter the Hong Kong market. Our service targets include those interested in the Hong Kong market.

Mainland and international enterprises, covering enterprises from mainland China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries, as well as entrepreneurial teams with Chinese backgrounds. We assist these enterprises in landing in Hong Kong and connecting with relevant resources.

Second, industry promotion and event support. We actively participate in and sponsor various industry events, such as the Consensus conference, where we are one of the sponsors. In addition, we also host or support large industry events, such as the ‘Hong Kong Fintech Week,’ which is also one of the projects our team is responsible for. Through these events, we hope to provide a platform for communication and development for enterprises and industry leaders in the fields of Web3, virtual assets, fintech, and blockchain, attracting more related companies to enter Hong Kong.

Third, policy feedback and industry communication. Due to our close connection with daily work and enterprises, we are able to understand the latest industry trends and actual needs of enterprises for the first time. Therefore, within the government, we also play a “market feedback” role, frequently communicating with colleagues responsible for policy development and regulation, conveying the voice of the market to decision-makers and regulatory agencies, ensuring that policies can better meet the development needs of the industry.

In addition, as a government propaganda and promotion platform, Invest Hong Kong also plays a role in industry promotion. We hope to use our promotional resources to help more people understand important industry trends, such as international conferences like Consensus coming to Hong Kong, showcasing Hong Kong’s potential as the center for Web3 development in Asia.

In addition, we are also responsible for connecting industry resources. For example, if Consensus needs to establish an ecosystem in Hong Kong or seek cooperation with the government and private enterprises, we can utilize the Invest Hong Kong’s in-depth understanding of local resources to provide them with effective support and facilitate more cooperation opportunities.

Has Hong Kong’s support for web3 undergone a change

A: In fact, Hong Kong has always been very supportive of the Web3 field, and the reason behind this is also very simple. Hong Kong is a free market where capital can flow freely, and its economic system itself is very suitable for the development of transnational and borderless industries, such as cryptocurrencies and Web3. Essentially, the core features of these industries are globalization and decentralization, so Hong Kong naturally has the advantage to develop these industries.

The Investment Promotion Agency has been paying attention to this emerging industry for a long time and has been providing support. At the same time, as mentioned earlier, we collect industry feedback in our daily communication with enterprises and convey market demands to policy bureaus and regulatory agencies, hoping that policy makers can pay timely attention to the industry’s development trends. Therefore, our support has always been continuous and stable.

Question: Is the Investment Promotion Agency a subordinate agency of the Policy Bureau?

A: The Investment Promotion Bureau is under the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and often collaborates with other policy bureaus. Senior officials of policy bureaus need to consider the overall interests and long-term development of the entire Hong Kong from a global perspective, while the Investment Promotion Bureau is on the market front line and can observe the development trends of emerging industries more quickly.

The role we play is more like a “Market Intelligence Hub”, collecting industry dynamics through daily contact with companies and feeding back this information to relevant government departments to help them better formulate policies.

Q: How does it currently support local businesses

A: The enterprises we support are not limited to local companies, but also include companies with overseas Chinese or international backgrounds. Their needs are mostly focused on customer expansion. For example, some enterprises related to Web3, virtual assets, or blockchain, if their target customers are banks, it is often difficult to connect directly, especially for enterprises that have just entered the Hong Kong market.

For example, suppose a well-known Swiss blockchain company has just entered the Hong Kong market. If they contact local banks on their own, it may take a long time to establish trust and cooperation. However, if this company goes through our Investment Promotion Agency, we will conduct background checks first to ensure its good reputation, and then directly make precise referrals and connections to relevant large banks or financial institutions.

The same logic also applies to investment institutions in Hong Kong, such as Venture Capital and government-backed funds. We will help companies find suitable investors or partners more quickly, improve matching efficiency, and accelerate the landing and development of enterprises.

Q: Do you have any impressive enterprise cases?

Answer: The practical application of blockchain technology is crucial to the entire Web3 and virtual asset industry, especially in cooperation with regulatory agencies. For example, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched Project Ensemble last year, which is a highly influential initiative aimed at promoting the development of RWA (Real-World Assets).

The project has attracted not only large banks and technology companies to participate but also opened up pilot projects and sandbox testing to international innovation institutions. However, even if many overseas companies are aware of the launch of this project by HKMA, they may not necessarily know how to join or contact the relevant person in charge. Due to the large scale of HKMA, it is not easy to find the right contact person.

In this situation, our Investment Promotion Agency has played a key role - helping these overseas companies connect with HKMA officials, enabling them to smoothly join Project Ensemble, thereby promoting the development of the entire industry. Last year, this project made significant progress, also reflecting our important role in promoting industry cooperation.

Question: Will companies that issue ICOs be supported

A: Currently, Hong Kong’s support for ICO (Initial Coin Offering) companies is cautious and has certain thresholds. Although there is a high demand for token issuance in the market, Hong Kong regulators pay more attention to investor protection, ensuring market compliance and security.

Policy makers in Hong Kong need to find a balance between open markets and investor protection. For example, licensed trading platforms need to conduct rigorous due diligence (DD) before listing tokens to ensure the legitimacy and feasibility of the projects. Only projects that have passed through these layers of screening can be listed on compliant trading platforms in Hong Kong.

The market has a high demand for more tokens to be listed, while regulatory agencies need to ensure that the rights of retail investors are not harmed. Therefore, the development in this area in Hong Kong will be a gradual process, meeting market demands while ensuring compliance and security.

Question: Why does Hong Kong focus on the development of digital assets? For example, the previously launched stablecoin sandbox and the Ensemble project

Answer: This is actually a very reasonable choice, because Hong Kong has always been an international financial center, and digital assets are an important part of financial innovation.

When we ask everyone about their impression of Hong Kong, many people (whether Chinese or foreigners) will first think of “financial center”. From the perspective of the capital market, Hong Kong’s market size and liquidity far exceed many competitors. For example, in 2024, more than 70 companies in Hong Kong successfully went public, with a total financing scale of over 80 billion Hong Kong dollars. In comparison, Singapore had only 4 companies listed in the same year, with a total financing amount of about 300 million US dollars, which is equivalent to 30 times the financing scale of Hong Kong.

For emerging industries, liquidity in the capital market is crucial, and Hong Kong has significant advantages in this regard. That’s why many global fund management companies choose Hong Kong as the base for asset management and capital operations.

In addition, the Hong Kong government is also actively promoting other financial innovations, such as Green Finance. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) became the first government agency in the world to launch a Tokenized Green Bond project in 2023, and conducted a second tokenized green bond issuance in 2024. In addition, the Hong Kong government has also set up subsidies of up to 2.5 million Hong Kong dollars to encourage institutions to issue tokenized green bonds in Hong Kong.

In this context of financial innovation, Hong Kong will naturally attach importance to the development of digital assets, including the launch of stablecoin sandbox, Project Ensemble, and other projects, to further promote the development of virtual assets and tokenized finance.

Question: What do you think is the development direction of the Hong Kong fintech and web3 industries?

Answer: First, stablecoins and cross-border payments, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has a positive attitude towards the development of stablecoins and is committed to promoting their ecosystem. The core logic behind this is that Hong Kong, as the world’s third-largest financial center, focuses on application scenarios with scale effects and profound impact, rather than just meme culture or short-term hotspots. Among them, cross-border payments are one of the most promising stablecoin application scenarios, especially in the B2B field. Many mainland Chinese exporters and e-commerce companies sell goods to emerging markets (such as Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia), and the existing cross-border payment systems face two main problems: long transaction times: fund transfers may take several days or even a week; high costs: payment fees in some regions can be as high as 10%, greatly increasing enterprise costs. The application of stablecoins can reduce transaction costs, accelerate fund settlements, and reduce transaction risks caused by time delays. Therefore, the landing of stablecoins in the field of cross-border payments is expected to become one of the important directions for the development of financial technology in Hong Kong.

Second, tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). Hong Kong’s advantages in asset management make it an important driver of the tokenization of RWA (Real-World Assets). As mentioned earlier, Hong Kong’s capital market is extremely liquid, and the tokenization of RWA is a key trend in the era of asset management 3.0. At the end of 2023, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Invesco, AxoneChain jointly released a white paper analyzing the potential of the RWA tokenization market. The report points out that the estimated size of the tokenized funds market alone is as high as $610 billion. With more and more TradFi (Traditional Finance) institutions entering the Web3 field, Hong Kong is expected to become an important center for the tokenization of RWA, promoting the trading and management of securities, bonds, funds, and other assets on the blockchain.

Third, digital culture and the Crypto Native industry. Hong Kong is not only an international financial center but also the world’s second-largest art auction market (second only to New York, surpassing London in 2020). Therefore, Web3 has huge potential in the digitization of art, NFTs, and intellectual property (IP) tokenization. Digital art and NFTs: Many second-generation rich and high-net-worth individuals are extremely interested in digital artworks, and Hong Kong’s international environment makes it an ideal place for the trading of digital artworks and the development of NFTs. IP tokenization: A large number of well-known IPs are tokenized through Web3 technology, making the circulation of the value of artworks and cultural products more efficient.

Hong Kong is also a gathering place for Chinese Crypto Native entrepreneurs, especially in the consumer application field. Opportunities for Chinese Web3 entrepreneurs: many Western markets have advantages in B-end infrastructure, while Chinese entrepreneurs have accumulated rich experience in consumer applications in the Web 2.0 era, such as e-commerce, social media, content platforms, etc. Hong Kong’s policy environment is friendly, funds are abundant, and as an international city, it is very convenient to connect with overseas markets. Therefore, more and more Chinese Web3 entrepreneurs choose to establish international headquarters in Hong Kong to explore new opportunities in consumer applications.

**Q: What important achievements has the Hong Kong fintech industry made in the past few years? How do Hong Kong’s regulations and policies support the development of enterprises? How do you think these policies have promoted the growth of the fintech industry in Hong Kong?

A: In the past few years, Hong Kong has made significant achievements in the field of financial technology, especially in virtual assets, payment technology, and financial infrastructure. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have successively launched a series of policies to support the innovation and compliant development of financial technology companies. For example, Hong Kong has established a regulatory framework for virtual asset trading platforms and launched a pilot project for central bank digital currency (CBDC). In addition, Hong Kong is also promoting the compliance of stablecoins, attracting more traditional financial institutions to enter the cryptocurrency market.

Currently, the largest stablecoin in the world is USDT (Tether), followed by USDC, and the competition between the two is increasingly fierce in the market. Due to stricter compliance requirements and regulatory licenses, USDC is more favored by institutional investors in certain areas. In contrast, due to the lack of comprehensive regulatory licenses, some traditional financial institutions are still adopting a wait-and-see attitude towards USDT. Currently, the global trade market has a scale of hundreds of trillions of US dollars, while the market size of stablecoins is still relatively small, not yet reaching 11 trillion US dollars. This is mainly because many enterprises are still looking for regulated stablecoins to ensure the security and compliance of funds. Therefore, stablecoins that obtain formal financial licenses will become an important bridge for traditional financial institutions to enter the cryptocurrency market. As a leading global financial center, Hong Kong has started issuing licenses related to stablecoins. Regulated stablecoins can not only enhance market credibility but also encourage more countries to adopt stablecoins issued by Hong Kong, whether priced in RMB, HKD, or USD. This trend will further expand the global stablecoin market, potentially increasing its size by tens or even hundreds of times in the future.

With Hong Kong’s leading layout in stable coin regulation, traditional financial institutions (TradFi) are more likely to enter this field, laying the foundation for the widespread application of stable coins. The transparency of regulation and market credibility will be key factors driving the growth of the stable coin industry.

**Question: In the context of fierce global competition, what unique features do you think Hong Kong has that make it an ideal location to attract fintech and web3 companies and investors?

Answer: Hong Kong’s ability to attract companies and investors in the financial technology and Web3 fields is mainly due to its unique international advantages, its position as a financial center, and its role as a bridge between the East and the West. Hong Kong has an international brand effect and financial reputation. Essentially, Hong Kong is a globally renowned financial brand. Even though many people have not visited Hong Kong personally, when Hong Kong is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is an international financial center. Especially in the fields of financial technology and Web3, obtaining a financial license in Hong Kong signifies high international recognition. For example, licensed institutions in Hong Kong have high global recognition—if a company obtains a license in Hong Kong, it is usually more easily accepted in other markets, enhancing its brand value and compliance reputation. Hong Kong’s regulatory system is mature—in the field of digital assets, Hong Kong’s regulatory framework is relatively clear, which is particularly important for Web3 companies and institutional investors wishing to operate in a regulated environment.

Hong Kong serves as a financial hub for the Belt and Road Initiative. Hong Kong is not only China’s international financial center but also an important node for the Belt and Road Initiative. Against the backdrop of intensified global economic competition, many emerging market countries in the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and other regions hope to strengthen economic and trade ties with mainland China, and Hong Kong is a crucial financial bridge in this process. Many Chinese companies choose to set up offices in Hong Kong to facilitate expansion into markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and other regions. Many Middle Eastern companies also establish a presence in Hong Kong to better attract Chinese companies to enter their markets. This two-way interaction has made Hong Kong an important hub connecting global capital, markets, and technology.

Question: Considering your travels to the Middle East, Singapore, Europe, etc., do you have any new insights into the role Hong Kong should play in the global development of Web3? What unique features do you think Hong Kong has, and how should it leverage its strengths to overcome challenges?

Answer: This is a very good question, and I have been thinking about it for many years, haha. I have been verifying this question while traveling to different countries. In fact, there is a saying in China: ‘Not knowing how fortunate one is.’ Hong Kong does have a unique advantage in the global development of Web3. Firstly, in the Web3 and encryption industry, one of the key factors for success is capital, and Hong Kong is very fortunate in this respect - a large amount of funds circulate in Hong Kong, many Web3 venture capitalists (VC) are also established here, and capital is relatively abundant, which is the first major advantage.

Secondly, in addition to funding, talent is also a crucial factor, including entrepreneurs and engineers. During my business trip to Europe, I observed that the European economy is relatively mature, and many of the best entrepreneurs may have worked in large banks or financial institutions for 20 years, so they are experienced and quick-witted, but the challenge is that the labor costs are too high. Hong Kong is relatively fortunate in this regard - although the salary level in Hong Kong is not low, many of the team engineers are located in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi’an, Nanjing, Hangzhou and other mainland cities, while product managers and project leaders are based in Hong Kong and are responsible for the international market. This “front-end Hong Kong, back-end mainland” model is very common and has also brought advantages in terms of cost control and talent acquisition.

Third, another core advantage of Hong Kong is the application scenarios. Many application scenarios of Web3, Crypto, and Blockchain are closely related to finance, and Hong Kong, as one of the top three global financial centers, naturally has unique competitiveness. In addition, Web3 also involves cultural, community, and other aspects, and as an international city blending Eastern and Western cultures, Hong Kong has attracted numerous foreign entrepreneurs, investors, and developers. This cultural diversity has also created favorable conditions for the development of Web3.

In addition, Hong Kong’s living environment is also an important factor attracting Web3 talents. Compared to the Middle East and other regions, Hong Kong’s climate and food culture are more friendly to Chinese people, with a high level of convenience in daily life, making it easier to attract international talents to live and develop in the long term.

Of course, Hong Kong also faces some challenges in the development of Web3, the most crucial of which is not external difficulties, but whether the internal execution speed can keep pace with the industry development.

We have held many closed-door meetings, allowing industry leaders to communicate directly with policy makers and regulators. Many industry insiders believe that the Hong Kong government is very open-minded and willing to listen to the market, which is a very positive aspect. However, the market demands are clear, and the pace of policy implementation and regulation needs to be closer to the market rhythm to ensure that the Web3 ecosystem can quickly take root and develop in Hong Kong.

Therefore, I believe that Hong Kong’s core strengths lie in capital, talent, application scenarios, and cultural diversity, while the biggest challenge is how to accelerate the speed of policy implementation to meet market demand. As long as these advantages can be fully utilized and continuously optimized at the execution level, Hong Kong will play an increasingly important role in the global Web3 development.