The central government is aware that Hong Kong’s position as a global financial center suffered during the protests and pandemic and may see allowing the city to embrace crypto – as long as it does not threaten financial stability on the mainland – as useful to revive its fortunes. “The encounters have been friendly, with officials checking on developments, asking for reports and in some cases making follow-up calls,” according to Bloomberg. Officials from China’s Liaison Office reportedly have been showing up regularly at crypto gatherings in Hong Kong. If digital assets are mostly banned there, why would Beijing allow Hong Kong to serve as a hub for them?īut it seems that the central government may be having a change of heart. After all, as goes the mainland, so goes Hong Kong. That said, when we first heard that the city wanted to recapture its lost crypto crown, we were skeptical. Therein lies an opportunity for Hong Kong – if it has a large enough risk appetite. Singapore has been explicit that it does not want to serve as a hub for crypto exchanges catering to retail investors. But precisely because crypto is mercurial, Singapore is rethinking its exposure to the industry. If green finance is a relatively safe bet for Hong Kong, cryptocurrency is much more of a gamble. This should set the stage for regular digital bond offerings in the city. In February, it issued HK$800 million (US$102 million) in tokenized green bonds, the first such sale by a government globally. Nevertheless, Hong Kong has a leg up on Singapore in the nascent segment of tokenized green bonds. Additionally, Singaporean firms have issued US$39.5 billion in green loans compared to US$13.4 billion raised by companies in Hong Kong. ![]() Singapore also had an edge in issuance: US$34 billion to Hong Kong’s US$24 billion. 28, more than double the 103 listed in Hong Kong. According to Bloomberg, there were 272 sustainability, green, social or transition bonds listed in the city state as of Sept. Unsurprisingly, Singapore is also an active player in green bonds. The Hong Kong government in January announced the successful offering of US$5.75 billion in green bonds denominated in dollars, euros and renminbi, which it says is the largest ESG bond issuance in Asia to date. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has already had some success with green bonds.
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