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The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has yet to determine if it should issue CBDC, but it continues to experiment. 16 firms are participating in the pilot programs, working on 14 projects on topics including programmable payments, tokenized deposits, settlement of tokenized assets and offline payments. Cross-border payments applications are especially thorny due to the legal challenges of connecting payments across multiple jurisdictions, which requires a lot of political will across multiple jurisdictions.

HSBC and the School of Business and Management of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST Business School) will run a one-week hypothetical e-HKD proof of concept. The bank will use distributed ledger technology (DLT) to simulate programmable money and instant settlement for retail payments. Around 200 HKUST Business School staff will receive hypothetical eHKD to spend at five campus merchants, such as cafes. They can also receive rewards as a digital token. I'm not certain about this, but it may be running as part of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) e-HKD Pilot Programme announced in May 2023.

According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) the latest Project mBridge proof-of-concept (PoC) test has demonstrated that the wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform can speed up cross-border payments at reduced cost and with better transparency. Project mBridge is a collaboration between the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), HKMA, and the central banks of China,  Thailand, and United Arab Emirates, and commercial banks from each of those jurisdictions. More central banks are slated to join the platform, and a minimum viable product, with the aim of paving the way for the gradual commercialization will soon be launched. https://www.bis.org/review/r230925d.htm

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is launching "Synapse," a platform that will utilize smart contracts to streamline post-trade flows and enhance operational efficiencies. It will be deployed on Stock Connect, an HKEX channel that enables international investors to access more than 1,000 mainland Chinese stocks through routing in Hong Kong. HKEX will be linked to Hong Kong's Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation through its Institutional Trade Processing service, allowing for the central matching of cross-border transactions. Settlement instructions are then automatically generated and sent back to the Synapse platform, thus enhancing the trade confirmation workflow. https://www.hkex.com.hk/News/News-Release/2023/231004news?sc_lang=en

The Hong Kong FinTech Week 2022 launched today (October 31, 2022) and the co-organizer, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced new initiatives to spur fintech development in Hong Kong, although most of it seemed like old news to me. For example, the list included Project mBridge, the joint cross-border payments initiative with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub and several other central banks. And the retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) announcement re-hashed the e-HKD position paper published in September 2022.

Hong Kong's Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) published a policy statement on virtual assets. It is putting together a licensing regime for virtual asset service providers that will align their requirements to those currently applicable to traditional financial institutions. The Securities and Futures Commission will also conduct a public consultation on retail investors' access to virtual assets under the new regulations, such as through virtual asset exchange traded funds. Also, it said that the government is open to considering property rights for tokenised assets and the legality of smart contracts, so as to provide a solid legal foundation for their development. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202210/31/P2022103000454.htm

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued the consultation conclusion to the discussion paper on crypto-assets and stablecoins. Respondents were supportive of regulating stablecoins with a risk-based and agile approach. The respondents also broadly supported the need to take into account the latest market developments and draw reference from the discussion of international regulatory bodies when developing the relevant regulatory regime. he HKMA will announce the regulatory arrangements and next steps in due course.

A new experiment by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub and Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) shows central bank digital currency (CBDC) can work with private stablecoins, even if intermediary operators go bust. Project Aurum created a technology stack comprised of a wholesale interbank system and a retail e-wallet system, setting up two different types of tokens: intermediated CBDC and stablecoins backed by CBDC in the interbank system.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) reportedly announced the six winners of its Global Fast Track CBDC competition, who will now work with the HKMA on central bank digital currency (CBDC) research projects: ARTA TechFin Corporation Limited (technology), Bank of China (Hong Kong) (use case), Giesecke+Devrient (G+D Filia) (technology), Hang Seng Bank (use case), HSBC (ecosystem) and Visa (ecosystem).

Ripple will reportedly participate in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA's) digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD) central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program by showcasing a real estate asset tokenization solution. Ripple will partner with Taiwan's Fubon Bank and others to demonstrate equity release with tokenized assets using a retail version of the e-HKD CBDC. The pilot project will run on the new Ripple CBDC Platform, that uses a new private ledger with XRP Ledger technology and enhanced functionality, including offline transactions and non-smartphone use. It's the same platform that may be piloted in Bhutan, Montenegro and Palau.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today announced the commencement of the e-HKD central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot programme. A total of 16 firms from the financial, payment and technology sectors have been selected to participate in the first round of pilots. The pilots will take deep dives into potential use cases in six categories, including full-fledged payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenised deposits, settlement of Web3 transactions and settlement of tokenised assets. https://www.hkma.gov.hk/media/eng/doc/key-information/press-release/2023/20230518e4a1.pdf

The diagram below shows an example between BOT (Bank of Thailand) and HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority). The whole process can finish

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a position paper that sets out its policy stance on retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) and outlines its next steps. It was informed by two rounds of market consultation, one on high-level technical design and one on key policy and design issues. Taking into account the feedback received and further study by the central bank's staff, the HKMA will start paving the way for possible implementation of e-HKD in the future. A three-rail approach will be adopted, one of which will be a pilot involving selected banks, payment companies and other technology firms, plus their staff and a small number of clients.

The Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) are carrying out the second phase of technical testing on the use of digital yuan in cross-border payments, involving more banks in Hong Kong and the use of the Fast Payment System to top up digital yuan wallets. Earlier in November 2023, the Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) e-payment platform and the Bank of China in Hong Kong started to explore new digital yuan application scenarios, with a view to benefitting both mainland visitors to Hong Kong and Hong Kong residents visiting the mainland.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is reportedly in discussions with the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Swift regarding the potential to use a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross border payments. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the central bank is "even more convinced that CBDC can be the most effective and efficient mode for cross border payments."

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is set to issue a second batch of tokenized green bonds. In February 2023, the Hong Kong Government issued its first tokenized green bond, which shortened the settlement process from the typical five business days to one day. The HKMA facilitated clearing and settlement, utilizing a private blockchain network. The second tokenized green bond issuance will explore additional new features, possibly using blockchain technology for the full lifecycle of bond issuance, from creation to redemption. https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/speeches/2023/12/20231205-1/

The HKMA and the Bank of Thailand launched the FPS x PromptPay Link for cross-border QR payment between Hong Kong and Thailand. This provides a fast, secure and easily accessible cross-border retail payment service to people travelling between Hong Kong and Thailand, who will be able to make retail payments by using their mobile payment applications to scan the Hong Kong FPS QR code and Thai PromptPay QR Code displayed by merchants respectively. Merchants will be able to receive their funds immediately.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a report on the key findings, learnings, and assessments of the 14 pilots conducted by the 16 participating firms under Phase 1 of the e-HKD pilot program. The pilots showed that the programmability, tokenization, and atomic settlement associated with an e-HKD central bank digital currency (CBDC) could add unique value to the Hong Kong payment ecosystem. An e-HKD has the potential to facilitate faster, more cost-efficient, and more inclusive transactions., and enable new types of economic transactions. The next phase of the program will explore new e-HKD use cases and delve deeper into select pilots from Phase 1.

"Mastercard has completed the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) e-HKD Pilot Programme, which demonstrated the efficacy of the Mastercard Multi-Token Network solution to settle Web3 transactions involving decentralized applications and digital assets, such as NFTs. The pilot also showcased the potential for seamless funding and settlement in and out of Web3 marketplaces via a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), such as e-HKD in the future.

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a consultation paper outlining their proposal to regulate fiat-referenced stablecoins within the region. Firms actively marketing the issuance of such stablecoins to the public in Hong Kong will be required to obtain a specific local license from the HKMA. Such issuers will have to ensure that the value of the high-quality highly-liquid reserve assets backing the stablecoins is at least equal to the par value of the stablecoins in circulation at all times, to ensure that users will be able to redeem them for fiat currency on demand. https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/news-and-media/insight/2023/12/20231227/