The main conference of Hong Kong Fintech Week 2026 ended on 3 November. Over two days, officials and regulators discussed how AI and tokenisation can move past the pilot stage.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the next step is to bring the benefits of pilots into the day-to-day work of firms.

Launching more trials alone will not move the sector forward, he noted. To support this shift, he said that “the Government will provide clear rules and reliable infrastructure”.

On digital assets, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Joseph Chan set out a timeline.

The government aims to put a bill before lawmakers this year. If passed, it would require licences for firms that deal, advise, manage or hold virtual assets for clients.

SFC chief executive Julia Leung called for an agile and proportionate approach to agentic AI.

Such systems can carry out tasks with little human input. In her view, the level of autonomy should reflect the impact of a task and whether it can be undone. She added that higher-risk uses need strong safeguards.

Leung then turned to tokenisation, which uses a blockchain to record who owns an asset.

She said it will reach scale once it becomes part of how markets operate. It must also bring clear gains, such as faster settlement.

HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue said resilience and public trust are essential for these tools to succeed.

Banks and fintech firms, he added, can build on progress made under the regulator’s five-year roadmap.

Events run by partners and the local community continue across the city until 6 November.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Hong Kong, based on image by The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region via its website.