Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), delivered a keynote address at the Greenwich Economic Forum in Hong Kong.
The event gathered global leaders from finance, business, academia, and the public sector to discuss technology’s transformative impact on financial markets.
In her speech during the Greenwich Economic Forum, Julia highlighted the rapid technological advancements, mainly distributed ledger technology (DLT), and their potential to revolutionise financial services.
She discussed the increasing use of DLT in virtual assets and trade finance, emphasising its potential benefits in enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving transparency in financial transactions.
“Tokenisation allows for fractional ownership of physical assets, thereby lowering the entry threshold for investors,”
Julia said.
She cited the successful issuance of Hong Kong’s digital government green bonds and the SFC’s authorisation of tokenised investment products, such as gold tokens and virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Hong Kong is gradually building its Web3 ecosystem, evidenced by the issuance of digital government green bonds and the authorization of tokenized investment products.
The SFC has approved Asia’s first batch of VA spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with a total market capitalization of US$301 million and a daily turnover of US$5.8 million as of May 31.
Emphasising the role of regulation in fostering fintech innovation, Julia reiterated the SFC’s commitment to maintaining investor protection while promoting the responsible use of emerging technologies.
“We believe the responsible use of innovative technologies will drive efficiency gains for the financial industry and foster a sustainable Web3 ecosystem in Hong Kong,”
she stated.
Julia also discussed the potential of DLT to bring about significant changes in the financial industry, particularly in primary issuance, secondary market trading, custody, and hypothecation of traditional assets like bonds and money market funds.
She stressed the importance of interoperability, legal clarity, and regulatory consistency to support the institutional-grade financial services ecosystem.
“Championing responsible innovation and building a fintech ecosystem takes time, but we are all in this together to prepare ourselves for the future of finance,
” Julia urged financial institutions.
She highlighted the collaborative efforts between traditional and decentralised finance (DeFi) as essential for driving future success in the financial markets.
In closing, Julia emphasised, “The future is now, and this is an important time to unlock new opportunities.”
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
