BlackRock, SBI Holdings and Startale Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore how tokenised money market funds (MMFs) could connect with the JPYSC yen stablecoin. Two BlackRock entities, BlackRock Financial Management and BlackRock Japan, are party to the agreement. JPYSC is a yen-denominated, trust-type stablecoin that SBI Group first issued in June, with Startale serving as its technology partner. According to the companies, the tokenisation of products such as MMFs is gaining traction worldwide. In Japan, amendments to the Payment Services Act have already established a legal framework for stablecoins. The companies see the next step as…

RedotPay is considering a confidential filing for a US IPO by year-end, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The Hong Kong-based company is in talks with investors on a possible pre-IPO round. That round would value it at US$4 billion to US$5 billion, one of the people said. The company has weighed the move for months while working through regulatory issues. According to the people, plans are not final and the timing could change. RedotPay did not reply to requests for comment. Filing this way lets a company get feedback from the US Securities and Exchange Commission before…

HSBC plans to merge Hang Seng Bank’s fund arm into its own asset management unit, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Such a move would place the manager of Hong Kong’s largest ETF inside HSBC Asset Management. Under the plan, HSBC Asset Management would take in Hang Seng Investment Management. HSBC’s unit manages about US$876 billion in assets, compared with US$50 billion at the Hang Seng unit. Neither source was named because the plan has not been made public. HSBC did not comment on the reported merger. In an emailed statement, it said it wants its fund business…

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved what it describes as the world’s first secondary trading of tokenised public funds on a licensed virtual asset trading platform (VATP). Two existing SFC-authorised tokenised money market funds began trading around the clock on 26 October. Investors can now buy and sell the products outside traditional market hours. The approval follows a regulatory framework introduced in April 2026 to support secondary trading of tokenised SFC-authorised funds on licensed VATPs. Drawing on existing regulations for exchange-traded funds and VATPs, the framework sets requirements for trading operations, fair pricing, liquidity provision and investor disclosures.…

LianLian Global has partnered with PayPal to offer direct wallet payouts. Its social commerce, marketplace and e-commerce clients can now pay creators and contractors through PayPal in 96 markets. They can also pay Venmo users in the US. LianLian Global is an affiliate of Lianlian DigiTech. The Hong Kong-listed group set up its overseas headquarters in the city in November 2025. The move is aimed at the creator and gig economy, where many payees already hold PayPal or Venmo accounts. LianLian Global will handle cross-border collection, foreign exchange and compliance. PayPal will provide its global wallet network. Clients can pay…

China’s Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission has issued a national informatisation plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The plan runs from 2026 to 2030. By 2030, the plan aims to largely complete a national blockchain network. Other infrastructure goals include a fully built next-generation communications network. Commercial use of 6G is to begin at a suitable time. The document serves as a guide for informatisation work across China’s regions and government departments. Beyond infrastructure, the plan seeks deeper integration of digital technology with the real economy. It also targets breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. Further aims include stronger…

HSBC has launched HSBCnio, an AI-enabled digital solution that brings transaction banking services and data into one connected experience for corporate and institutional clients. The platform allows clients’ own AI tools to access authorised account and transaction information. This helps treasury teams incorporate AI into their workflows while maintaining existing permissions and controls. The launch marks the next phase of HSBC’s digital banking transformation. It brings the bank’s services and data into the platforms and systems businesses already use. How clients access HSBCnio Clients can access HSBCnio through web and mobile applications using their existing HSBCnet credentials and permissions. They…

Standard Chartered-led Anchorpoint plans to offer a retail stablecoin on a public blockchain but has not set a launch date, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP). The plans come as HSBC launches its own Hong Kong dollar-backed token, HSBC RedCoin, for the 3.3 million users of its PayMe app. Anchorpoint released its institutional product in August. It had said a retail version could follow as early as the end of 2026, but did not confirm this timing at a press conference. Its chief executive, Dominic Maffei, said the company prefers to grow the market gradually and sees no…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has designated 12 banks as Primary Liquidity Providers (PLPs) for Hong Kong’s offshore renminbi (RMB) market, also known as the CNH market. With the new designations, the total RMB repo facility dedicated to the HKMA Primary Liquidity Providers will increase from RMB20 billion to RMB22 billion. The appointments cover a two-year term, which begins on 27 October 2026 when the current term expires. Banks named under the scheme include Agricultural Bank of China Limited, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., BNP Paribas, China CITIC Bank International Limited and China…

Citi has received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to set up a wholly owned capital markets firm on the mainland. The new entity, Citigroup Securities (China) Company Limited (CSCCL), will be headquartered in Shanghai. Once it is set up, CSCCL will offer equities brokerage, underwriting, research and principal trading. It will serve domestic and foreign clients. Before that, however, Citi must complete the legal and regulatory steps needed to open the firm. The firm will underwrite deals onshore and give clients direct access to China’s stock exchanges. In addition, it will offer investment advice and trade onshore…

HSBC has launched HSBC RedCoin, its first stablecoin, on the PayMe mobile payment app in Hong Kong. Denominated in Hong Kong dollars, the stablecoin carries the ticker RCHKD. The bank issues it under a stablecoin issuer licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). With the launch, more than 3.3 million PayMe users can activate a stablecoin wallet within the app. Users can then send instant peer-to-peer payments and pay at more than 100,000 merchants, according to the bank. As a result, customers can make stablecoin payments without leaving an app they already use. HSBC added that the stablecoin relies…

Unlimit has signed a partnership agreement with the Hong Kong Government, which named the global financial infrastructure company a Strategic Enterprise. The agreement supports its plans to make the city a flagship Asia-Pacific hub for cross-border payments and multi-currency settlement. The designation comes from the government’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES). OASES aims to attract international businesses in sectors of strategic importance to Hong Kong, including fintech and AI. It gives selected companies tailored support to establish and expand their operations in the city. From Hong Kong, Unlimit plans to expand its presence across Asia-Pacific. Through its proprietary payment…

No institution moves into digital assets until it knows who will hold them and what happens to those assets if that custodian fails. This panel looks at custody as the gating issue for institutional adoption in Malaysia, where licensing is in place but enforcement is still catching up with Hong Kong and Singapore. The panellists see banks entering the space as partners that grow the market, while tokenised assets raise a new test of whether the token matches the record behind it. On safety, they treat insurance as the last line of defence, with segregation and layered key controls doing…

Hong Kong digital bank EleBank has opened its first physical store in Causeway Bay as it expands beyond online banking services and places greater emphasis on wealth management. EleBank officially opened the location on 15 October, describing it as Hong Kong’s first physical store operated by a digital bank. Spanning more than 1,600 square feet across two floors, the store allows customers to explore wealth management solutions in person. Customers can also continue accessing banking services through EleBank’s mobile app. Facilities include a Digital Wealth Experience Zone, a market information display area, a financial education seminar zone and private consultation…

Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has blocked Grab’s proposed US$600 million acquisition of Delivery Hero’s foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan, citing competition concerns. According to Reuters, the regulator announced its decision on 21 October, concluding that the potential harm to competition outweighed the transaction’s overall economic benefits. The FTC also determined that the commitments offered by the companies were insufficient to address its competition concerns. Grab agreed in March 2026 to acquire foodpanda’s Taiwanese operations for US$600 million in cash. The acquisition would have marked Grab’s entry into its ninth market and its first outside Southeast Asia. Grab had expected…

Ping An Digital Bank has launched two trade financing products for SMEs, offering revolving credit facilities of up to HK$50 million to support importers and exporters. The new Receivables Finance and Invoice Financing solutions use alternative data for credit assessments. Businesses can also access financing through a single digital platform, with funds available in as little as one business day. Receivables Finance allows exporters to access funds against outstanding sales receivables by submitting commercial invoices and bills of lading. Invoice Financing, meanwhile, helps importers manage procurement costs by disbursing approved financing amounts directly to suppliers. The facility offers repayment terms…

Hyperlayer has raised US$26 million in a Series A2 round led by existing investor Flintlock Capital. The round values the banking technology company at US$260 million post-money. With this round, Hyperlayer has raised nearly US$66 million since October 2025. Mouro Capital, Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, LLLP and other existing and new investors also took part. It is the second time in 12 months that existing investors have backed the company. Rob Rooney and Paul Rolles, who previously worked together at Morgan Stanley, founded the company in 2023. Its technology allows banks to modernise without replacing the core systems that support…

DBS PayLah! users can now make QR payments at more than 250,000 merchants across Taiwan, covering approximately two-thirds of the country’s TWQR merchant network. DBS expects payment acceptance to expand across the full participating TWQR merchant network in 2027 as more providers join. More than three million PayLah! users can use the service at night markets, restaurants and retail outlets without downloading another payment app or relying on cash. DBS is the first Singapore bank to connect its customers to TWQR, adding Taiwan to its existing cross-border QR payment coverage through Indonesia’s QRIS, Malaysia’s DuitNow, Thailand’s PromptPay and UnionPay globally.…

How much control does a bank really have over the AI it uses? Let’s picture a relationship manager reviewing a credit memo drafted by an agent. Before relying on it, the banker first needs to know which customer records informed the assessment and whether the agent used the current lending policy. And once other departments start building their own agents, keeping track of them becomes a job in itself. As adoption spreads, teams may duplicate work, rely on different policy versions and struggle to track costs across departments. Managing that work across departments is part of what Huawei aims to…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) plans to rotate the roles of two deputy chief executives, the South China Morning Post reported. Two people familiar with the matter said the move is part of its succession planning. According to one source, Darryl Chan Wai-man is expected to head the Exchange Fund Investment Office from 9 November. In this role, he would manage the HK$4.46 trillion (US$568 billion) Exchange Fund. Hong Kong uses the fund to support the value of its currency. Chan would replace fellow HKMA deputy chief executive Howard Lee Tat-chi. Meanwhile, Lee is set to take over Chan’s…